If I ruled Buntingford ...

I think Buntingford needs more caf�s so that family�s can come, do some shopping, eat somewhere and go home. At the moment people will do some shopping for a short period of time and then go home. Buntingford has a library and some other nice shops bit I think it needs one or two more caf�s.

There are very few transport links, so many people travel by car to get to Buntingford. There doesn�t appear to be as many people coming now � perhaps this is because they need to pay for the car park. This might cause shops to lose business. I think if you did not have to pay for the car park then Buntingford would become more popular. I also think that if we are going to make Buntingford more popular we need better �names� shops. There are many local shops in Buntingford which are pretty good but there is something that would make Buntingford stand out a bit more. Possibly a W.H. Smiths, as Buntingford does not have any bookshops. Its stationary products would also be popular with local school children.

I would make sure that Ward Freman Swimming pool is organized better and all of the staff are well trained. Also they need to let people know what�s happening i.e. �Jill is away so Lucy will be taking her class today� on a notice board where everyone can see it. I think if I ruled Buntingford I would make sure that they communicate with parents either by email or fortnightly letters about what is going on.

I think the Park Area could be improved so parents would bring their children to Buntingford to see and play on it. Small children may also like a little caravan shop with ice cream and ice lollies within the area. The Park may have a swing, a slide and a see-saw, but an area which people can sit down and relax amongst flowers and trees would improve it. Also this will make Buntingford more eco-friendly.

I think the Buntingford Library is very good and it should be better promoted. The Library has good resources which include computers, magazines and newspapers. It also has rentable DVDs. Also I think the bike shop (Trax) could be better promoted locally, as I think it�s one of the best in the county. I think they need advertisements which show what they have to offer.

I think that Buntingford has very good walking routes that not very many people know about. Therefore, I think there needs to be some signposts and notices about where different routes take you. There is a very nice Ford, with ducks, that not many people know about. There are also some nice circular walks that lead away from Buntingford. If there were signposts people would maybe have a walk and when they�re back in Buntingford, they can go to the new caf�!

Alice Liptrot

This website and all the pages herein are © Buntingford Civic Society.