Location, location, location?

IT is interesting to see how a major town centre scheme in Weymouth has come full circle.

When news first came out that Weymouth Fire Station at the bottom of Boot Hill was to close once a new one was built on Radipole Lane there were all sorts of ideas flying around for the prominent harbourside site.

It slowly emerged that retirement apartments was one option being considered to the horror of some people who felt sticking elderly people on one of the worst junctions in Weymouth right on top of a load of fumes, dirt and noise was an awful idea.

But the idea stuck, building work commenced and Harbour Lights Court has just been officially opened.

You might perhaps think that the development was a sales disaster waiting to happen since price tags of £201,000-£401-000 for the range of one and two-bedroom apartments would need a lot of selling, particularly with its notorious location. Far from it.

Unbelievably, half the apartments were claimed before the scheme even had a roof on it!

And when Harbour Lights Court was officially open there was a steady stream of interested potential buyers, some of whom actually reserved an apartment while I was interviewing the developers!

So it just goes to show. Never judge a book by its cover. The site may not be the greatest traffic wise, but its harbour views and proximity to town obviously carry more weight with potential buyers who clearly feel the site is attractive and suitable for their needs.

It will be interesting to see if the nearby council offices site proves as sought after when whatever homes-shops mix is chosen finally comes on the market.

Giving the fallen the respect they deserve

WE are in the middle of Armed Forces Week and crowds have already cheered veterans as they marched along the Esplanade after a seafront service.

Weymouth has a reputation as the premier venue outside London for such events and you only had to look at the crowds to understand why.

Much is made of our fallen abroad who lie in “some corner of a foreign field that is forever England” but, just as we value their sacrifice, then the sacrifice made by foreign servicemen on these shores is equally valued by their countrymen, not least because their corner of a foreign field happens to be Weymouth.

The Commonwealth War Graves Commission shames many cemeteries with the immaculate way it looks after its graves. 

I recently attended a ceremony in Melcombe Regis cemetery which has a number of Australian and New Zealand war graves and they were in perfect condition. Even the grass around them seemed in better condition than other sections of the cemetery.

The Commission clearly believes that if someone makes the ultimate sacrifice then they deserve a resting place which is well looked after, something which was commented on by a number of dignitaries at the event.

Let us hope that Armed Forces Week and the care of all war graves continues hand in hand “lest we forget”.

A warm bed and free healthcare for pensioners!

A PENSIONER has kindly sent me exclusive details of a new national healthcare scheme designed to help elderly people who face having to sell their home to pay for nursing care.

Essentially the scheme gives every pensioner a gun and four bullets to shoot four politicians!

This means that the ailing pensioner will be sent to prison where they will get three square meals a day, free accommodation, central heating, air conditioning, Sky television and all the healthcare they need including new teeth, glasses, hips, knees, kidneys, lungs, heart. 

Whatever they need, it is all covered.

An added bonus of the scheme is that the pensioner’s children can visit as often as they used to and, while someone has to pay for all this largess, it will actually be the same government which had just told the pensioner it couldn’t afford to pay for their nursing care.

It’s a win-win situation.... and each pensioner gets rid us of four useless politicians while they’re at it. Not only that, because they are a prisoner, they don’t pay income tax. 

Apparently there is a long queue for the scheme! Great country isn’t it?!

Bit foggy in the car park?

WHAT is it about car parks in Weymouth that seems to provoke brain death among the drivers who use them?

Three times in the last fortnight I have been using the multi-storey car park and met drivers coming up the down ramp.

Why? It is clearly not the way to go, the regular descending stream of vehicles should give such drivers a hint not to commit such lunacy, yet still they do it.

Other car parking areas are not exempt from “challenged” drivers either with another classic blunder coming at the Pavilion end of the one-way Commercial Road.

A driver, who had been parked there, carefully exited his space and then turned and tried to drive up Commercial Road towards the Pavilion against the one-way flow of traffic.

Why? He must have seen it was a one-way street to get to his space in the first place, so he knew the only way he could go was towards Town Bridge. Still he tried to retrace his steps and got shirty with it when lights were flashed to warn him. Only gradually did it dawn on him what he’d done and realisation was followed by an angry three-point turn as if it was somehow the fault of the drivers who had warned him.

So keep a wary eye out. There are more of these “foggy” people out there and some will be heading your way.

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