Time to look at bigger picture
I AM writing to you as I feel it is time for someone to offer a different interpretation to the future building plans in and around Newmarket to that held by the Save Historic Newmarket committee.
After attending the public meeting at the National Horseracing Museum on September 17, I must first say that I support wholeheartedly many of its projects, particularly on Forest Heath Council's proposed plans to turn the top of Newmarket High Street in to some sort of high rise monstrosity with multi-storey buildings dwarfing what is surely one of our town's most recognisable monuments, the clock tower.
However, the main purpose of the meeting and to which I cannot agree with them, is the proposed development of 1,200 new homes on Lord Derby's Hatchfield Farm and the associated traffic problems this would cause, particularly in the problems faced by trainers in moving Newmarket's horse population from their training yards to the exercise grounds. In fact, I feel they are being very short-sighted in their complete disregard of the project and need to consider the bigger picture.
It is inevitable that the traffic and population of Newmarket is set to increase, with or without the Hatchfield Farm development. I believe we should be looking at more effective solutions to manage and control the safe flow of traffic and horses through the town rather than hoping or thinking we can prevent things from getting worse.
It seems amazing to me that it is perceived two flashing orange lights 100 yards from a horse crossing is going to alert today's satnav reading mobile phone-talking drivers that there may be valuable racehorses about to step out in front of them on to the road. There are more effective ways to calm traffic while maintaining the flow.
These crossings could be manned in the mornings, particularly during rush hour traffic. Two people at each crossing with stop boards (think lollipop lady), would be a far more obvious and easily enforced means of controlling traffic.
The addition of street lighting on the approach to crossings would further aid visibility, particularly on dark winter mornings.
Road surfaces could be raised a few inches at the crossings as has been done to good effect on the approach to the new clock tower roundabout; this would physically force traffic to slow down before mounting the crossing itself.
We have one so-called safety camera in Newmarket on the Cambridge Road approach to town, positioned 100 yards before the extremely dangerous horse crossing found there, therefore guaranteeing traffic to be moving at a slower and safer speed.
As for the building of a large number of new houses on Hatchfield Farm, surely it makes more sense to be building on this piece of land, which is already close to Newmarket's industrial area with direct access to the A14 and the town's superstores, removing the need for people to travel through or into town unnecessarily.
I believe this to be a better solution than approving multiple numbers of smaller housing developments within Newmarket itself.
Mrs Gosden and the Save Historic Newmarket committee must consider the bigger future, not the less obvious but far greater adverse implications of building more new houses in Newmarket's central area and the dramatic effect that will have on the racing industry.
This does not appear to be a reasoned argument and a genuine desire to preserve a green field site.
Andrew Biddle
Snailwell Road
Newmarket
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Friday 25 May 2012
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