[15
DEC 98] SPON END FORUM PRESS RELEASE
Swift Action Over 'Dangerous Subway'City Council Development Director, John McGuigan, has acted swiftly to
allay local fears about a subway branded as dangerous. The subway which links Spon End and
the City Centre in Spon Street was the scene of a rape last month.
Mr McGuigan last night addressed the Spon
End Forum at their monthly meeting. The Forum is made up of all voluntary groups active in
the Spon End area, including residents groups, schools, churches and local traders. He and
his team had worked hard to develop five options for improving the link between the Spon
End area and the city centre.
Options included the construction of a
bridge over the ringroad to link both sections of Spon Street and also diverting
pedestrians to alternative crossings either through the Butts to Croft Road or new
crossings at the Holyhead Road roundabout.
But the Forum felt that the Spon Street
subway was the only viable crossing place for Spon End people and that the development of
this thoroughfare was important to the regeneration of Spon End and Spon Street. Both the
subway and Upper Spon Street needed massive investment to make the route safe and
attractive for pedestrians.
Residents and traders felt that the section
of Spon Street outside the ringroad had been forgotten whilst the city centre side of the
road was to benefit from £1.6 million of investment. The Forum asked Mr McGuigan to look
again at the area and to view the full length of Spon Street as an important pedestrian
thoroughfare to and from the city centre.
Mr McGuigan promised the Forum that he
would look at subway improvements, including:
- Improvements to the fabric of the subway to
make it more attractive.
- Installation of CCTV in the subway to help
improve public confidence.
- Landscaping of Upper Spon Street and
improved lighting to create a safer and attractive entrance/exit to the subway.
- Making a feature of the entrance to the
subway on the city centre side including signposting/interpretation boards/maps etc to
inform people of pedestrian routes through, and places of interest in, Spon End.
Mr McGuigan said he would take back the
ideas discussed and work them into a proposal to report back to the Forum.
FURTHER INFORMATION:
Colin Walker, Chair of the Forum 01203 223809
Sarah Fergusson, Chair of Spon End Tennants Association 07887 697877
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