Archive - Originally posted on "The Horse's Mouth" - 2010-06-27 05:09:04 - Graham Ellis
Yesterday was the grand opening of Dauncey Gardens - part of the new housing development to the East of Melksham by Persimmon homes. A big P.R. show by the company - with Town Criers, Carnival Queens, Majorettes, Morris Dancers, Press Photographers, Pimms and a Hog Roast, and of course a show home to look around.
"The first homes in Dauncey Gardens, Melksham, are on sale - with a show home available for you to look at. And on 26th June 2010, there was a big launch event..."
These are the pictures of the event. But what did we think of the home and the whole setup? I don't feel that I'm in a position to comment personally on the home - it's so different to what we have chosen (new v 200 years old for starters). I did overhear negative comment from some folks on size and kitchen layout aspects, etc - but then each family looks for "their own" and may view a lot of houses, so the housing business is one where there's naturally going to be a lot of such comments if you show people around random properties which aren't even tuned to what they may be looking for.
I liked the wide approach avenue, and what looks like the start of a variety of different housing rather than a series of identical units - I'm sure there's a number of designs there all using common components, but the number of designs (as seen in the new section of Bowerhill, for example) is in excess of one.
I am concerned at the lack of transport - yesterday's event had the approach road, right back to the new roundabout lined with cars, with people juggling for spaces. That was - I would hope - a one-off, but on a more serious note, there's only one bus per day passing the end of the street, and that's going to force everyone to have a car or two if they want to live at Dauncey Gardens, or Charles Church's neighbouring Manor Park, where a show home is also open. Now would be the time to have announced / planned some alternative... this is Persimmon's first local build for a number of years, and with times changed a viable alternative to the car would put property values up - "we can afford this because we don't have to buy a second car" rather than "there's a good bus service - so poor people who can't afford a car will be our neighbours". And I say that NOW is the time to at least announce the integrated public transport... not later on, with most of the units soled and filled and people already established in their travel habits. Catch 'em fresh - don't set your practical, public based alternatives an uphill struggle in converting people who have already established private transport habits!
Something else struck me too - as I snaked around through the showroom reception into the show house - carefully stepping over the frame of the doorways - that the places we were being shown were not wheelchair friendly. And that was brought home by the presence of several wheelchairs at the opening. I'm not seriously suggesting that every new home should have what I hate to call "disabled access" (but what words are the alternative ones?) but I'm saddened that any less than mobile visitors will find some little design aspects that look as if they were designed to hinder. Look at the picture that accompanies this paragraph and you'll see what I mean - a wheelchair user, and on the left an un-necessary four inch step up to the threshhold outside the front door of one of the houses. There's a house that people in wheelchairs will never want to visit!
But all in all, it is good to see things moving forward in Melksham - growing gently (?) again rather than stopping and becoming frozen in time. There's a lot of good aspects, but there are (of course) some concerns. But we look forward to welcoming new friends in amongst the many we met yesterday at Dauncey Gardens, and seeing them help Melksham be a town in the future and for the future.
The hog roast - enjoyed by all (but whether you got crackling was down to pot luck :-(
And I have a whole library of candid shots of people who came from near and far for the opening.
Yesterday was the grand opening of Dauncey Gardens - part of the new housing development to the East of Melksham by Persimmon homes. A big P.R. show by the company - with Town Criers, Carnival Queens, Majorettes, Morris Dancers, Press Photographers, Pimms and a Hog Roast, and of course a show home to look around.
"The first homes in Dauncey Gardens, Melksham, are on sale - with a show home available for you to look at. And on 26th June 2010, there was a big launch event..."
These are the pictures of the event. But what did we think of the home and the whole setup? I don't feel that I'm in a position to comment personally on the home - it's so different to what we have chosen (new v 200 years old for starters). I did overhear negative comment from some folks on size and kitchen layout aspects, etc - but then each family looks for "their own" and may view a lot of houses, so the housing business is one where there's naturally going to be a lot of such comments if you show people around random properties which aren't even tuned to what they may be looking for. 
I liked the wide approach avenue, and what looks like the start of a variety of different housing rather than a series of identical units - I'm sure there's a number of designs there all using common components, but the number of designs (as seen in the new section of Bowerhill, for example) is in excess of one.
I am concerned at the lack of transport - yesterday's event had the approach road, right back to the new roundabout lined with cars, with people juggling for spaces. That was - I would hope - a one-off, but on a more serious note, there's only one bus per day passing the end of the street, and that's going to force everyone to have a car or two if they want to live at Dauncey Gardens, or Charles Church's neighbouring Manor Park, where a show home is also open. Now would be the time to have announced / planned some alternative... this is Persimmon's first local build for a number of years, and with times changed a viable alternative to the car would put property values up - "we can afford this because we don't have to buy a second car" rather than "there's a good bus service - so poor people who can't afford a car will be our neighbours". And I say that NOW is the time to at least announce the integrated public transport... not later on, with most of the units soled and filled and people already established in their travel habits. Catch 'em fresh - don't set your practical, public based alternatives an uphill struggle in converting people who have already established private transport habits!
Something else struck me too - as I snaked around through the showroom reception into the show house - carefully stepping over the frame of the doorways - that the places we were being shown were not wheelchair friendly. And that was brought home by the presence of several wheelchairs at the opening. I'm not seriously suggesting that every new home should have what I hate to call "disabled access" (but what words are the alternative ones?) but I'm saddened that any less than mobile visitors will find some little design aspects that look as if they were designed to hinder. Look at the picture that accompanies this paragraph and you'll see what I mean - a wheelchair user, and on the left an un-necessary four inch step up to the threshhold outside the front door of one of the houses. There's a house that people in wheelchairs will never want to visit!
But all in all, it is good to see things moving forward in Melksham - growing gently (?) again rather than stopping and becoming frozen in time. There's a lot of good aspects, but there are (of course) some concerns. But we look forward to welcoming new friends in amongst the many we met yesterday at Dauncey Gardens, and seeing them help Melksham be a town in the future and for the future.
The hog roast - enjoyed by all (but whether you got crackling was down to pot luck :-(
And I have a whole library of candid shots of people who came from near and far for the opening.