RESIDENTS say they are not surprised at the announcement that Melksham Campus is behind schedule and over budget, comparing it to a train that will never arrive, or the town’s own version of Brexit.
Plans for the Melksham Community Campus were revealed at the Melksham Area Board to be nearly two months behind schedule by Wiltshire Council cabinet member for campuses John Thomson, who also disclosed that the council has a budget of £15.2million for the project, describing the project as ‘the most expensive campus in Wiltshire’.
In response to the main story in issue 717 of Melksham News, residents took to social media to share their thoughts.
Phil Chipper made the comparison of ‘a campus train which will never arrive’ and then extended his views in a letter to Melksham News saying, “It’s a chilling situation to be in, to see Christie Miller about to close with nothing to replace it but worthless promises that will almost certainly never see fruition.”
Catherine Cooper commented, “I do not believe Wiltshire Council are telling us the truth! I expect many of us older residents will never get to see a new campus.”
Maggie Hicks wrote, “Behind schedule is the biggest joke I have heard in a long time. There was a ludicrous amount of money spent on a Market Place no-one wanted and no-one wants the traffic lights that are to be installed on the Asda roundabout. The one thing that everybody was in favour of and much needed isn’t even started.”
Scott Lloyd commented, “I’m not sure if the saga of this or Brexit is more soul destroying!”
At the meeting, a new version of the campus design was presented, which has been changed from the last version in June.
Marc Bowden wrote, “Looks like a lot of squares and circles hastily drawn on a piece of paper to try to deflect from the anger surrounding the shortage of leisure facilities in Melksham over the next 3 years, during a period in which we are told the government is committed to fighting the obesity crisis.”
