Hands off our Riverside

THE Government has been insisting on using any spare space for housing for many years now. They now have bags of money to throw at developing open space. We know only too well that parking for Huntingdon workers is a problem. We live with it five days a

THE Government has been insisting on using any 'spare' space for housing for many years now. They now have bags of money to throw at developing open space.

We know only too well that parking for Huntingdon workers is a problem. We live with it five days a week, but if the fair stays in Huntingdon it should stay exactly where it has always been, before it was a tarmac car park.

We do not need the children's play area moved or reduced. There are far more suitable areas for a multi-sport facility. It would not improve the area for tourism at all. The area is more of a tranquil place.

An extra cycle lane/footpath would be good, but a gazebo and lighting would only attract night-time anti-social behaviour.

A couple of benches, and a couple of picnic benches around the edge of the field (away from drain covers), and some more in the park area, and additional bins near main pedestrian entrance and pavilion, would all be improvements. Also a café would be good for tourism, surely.

The riverside field is Huntingdon Town's public playing field, Huntingdon's jewel. It is not under-used (even if the councils cannot be bothered with a carnival).

If the Government, planners, councillors and car park users were all local to Huntingdon town and used the riverside regularly for peaceful free-time leisure, as many people do, to escape feeling of being hemmed in by so much housing and development, they would understand that this playing field is the last flat green open space we have.

Why do we have to keep fighting to save it? A simple easy-to-maintain piece of green space: we need some guarantees that it can remain as it is. It does not need money thrown at it.

SUE BUSHBY

The Paddock

Huntingdon