At the end of the day someone will have wasted thousands of pounds on a scheme that is absolutely ridiculous. That money could have been spent on numerous better projects, but yet people still decide to troll the public and spend it on feckless schemes. Complete stupidity if you ask me. At the end of the day it will probably be vandalised! Confirmation is awaited of the total cost of the project and where the funds to pay for this crackpot idea have come from.

Hi,
Please see the W4W site at http://www.whaleybridge.com/whaley4wards/

Feel free to attend and to suggest some of the projects you have in mind.You could make your suggestions here if you wish as well.

It would be a dull and boring world if nothing was ever done for fear of potential vandalism. We have to expect that there will be petty vandalism from time to time, but that cannot be the sole reason for deciding whether to go ahead with a project or not. It is generally understood that when areas are run down and in decay, then it tends to attract the sort of problems I think you have in mind. Improving the place that we live in helps to reduce these sort of problems.

The telephone box project is part of a wider regeneration project to tidy up the corner of the Jodrell carpark at the centre of the town, and provide a heritage point in it. I think it has been very successful in this respect. The main work has now been completed, but some minor finishing off  still has to be done.  The telephone box is not the only project that W4W is involved with. Regeneration funding comes from HPBC to be spent on eligible regeneration projects, and is match funded by the town council.. Total project cost is around £6000. This includes the clearing and laying of  stone flags in that area of the carpark, drainage, movement of fittings, replacement and extension of the railings, and of course the renovation and refitting of the telephone box, which originally came from Bings Road. There was considerable volunteer effort involved in the project as well. The work is at the heart of the conservation area of the town, so it was important that it was carried out in character.

W4W is always looking for new regeneration projects that can be achieved in a relatively short time-frame. If the publicity, positive or negative, around the telephone box project serves to galvanize people into thinking about and providing ideas for further regeneration projects which we can get our teeth into, then that would be great.W4W is always after new volunteers as well, and we would be very glad to welcome anyone who wants to get involved and hopefully see their ideas come to fruition.

Note that not all the ideas that people may have will be eligible for regeneration funding. Some project ideas may be things which are the responsibility of HPBC or DCC. Some ideas may involve land or structures in private ownership. Some ideas may simply be too costly or too long-term for the group to consider. However, let's have the ideas first and then see if we can put them into action. If it cant be done by W4W, then we may be able, through the Town Council , to get it done via different routes, which could include grant applications, the petitioning of the responsible party, and so on.

Cheers

Jon.

I would like to suggest the small garden next to the railway bridge on the corner of Whaley Lane and Reservoir Road. This is now very overgrown and has become an eyesore. I'm sure this area could be cleared in a relatively short time-frame and with care and minimum cost could be transformed into an attractive feature in the conservation area. The railings surrounding the garden would protect it from petty vandalism.

Hi Jon

Has a decision been made regarding the garden on Whaley Lane/Reservoir Road? Action has certainly been taken with the overgrown area now cleared and already looking much better. I do believe this area has the potential to be an attractive feature of the conservation area and would cost a fraction of the £6,000 that has been spent on moving the red phone box from Bings Road to the Station Car Park.

Barry Rudd was very quick to point out the cost to buy the phone box was £1. John Goldfinch has now confirmed the total cost of the project was around £6,000. I'm very interested to see where the other £5,999 has been spent and although Barry Rudd has stated the costings are available for all to see, I'm struggling to find them. Please can someone let us have a detailed breakdown of where local taxpayers money has been spent on this project, or tell us where it can be found. 

What has happened to JonG? I asked him a question on 25 August and he still hasn't replied. I don't think he's posted on this forum since July which is most unlike Jon. I hope he's ok.

 

Good evening.

The Whaley4Wards web page tells us the driving forces behind the Red Telephone Box / Information Point project are Prospective Councillor Barry Rudd, Councillor Jon Goldfinch, Town Clerk Stephanie Raybould and Councillor Martin Thomas.

We know at least three of the project leaders are members of this forum and therefore it is not unreasonable to expect that the answers to the questions raised are posted on this site.
 

Still no answer. Where has the money gone? 

With reference to the Red Box perhaps UnrealCity could answer the following questions which were asked by pensionman on the “Censorship on this forum” thread:

 

Why did it cost so much to locate?

What does it do?

Worth every penny! Isn't it easy to spend someone else's money. I think the people responsible should feel proud.
P.S. How many visitors to Whaley Bridge go to it thinking it's a working phone box?
Whatever information it contains could be displayed free on the notice boards outside the Mechanic's Institute where people would naturally look for information not in a phone box.
G.J.