9:19am Thursday 3rd July 2008
OPEN letter to Peter Evans, the director of legal, public protection and housing services, Vale of Glamorgan Council: I AM writing regarding the Cemetery Approach building project between the Vale of Glamorgan Council/Newydd Housing Association and the people of Barry.
As a family who have had an impact on Barry since the 1900s, when Vickery Brothers building firm started building houses and buildings in Barry and the Vale of Glamorgan area, I find - as the grandson of Bill Vickery, one of the founders of the firm - the whole affair of selling off land leading to the cemetery wrong.
This approach should be kept as it is, but landscaped so that your last journey with your relatives will be one of peace, not passing crammed-in housing, cars, vans etc.
There are many places within Barry that the council has neglected to upkeep - Cold Knap swimming pool, The Island, parks/play areas and Cemetery Approach.
One wonders, is this so that more revenue from taxes on new houses built on these areas can be used in the Vale and on councillors' wages/expenses instead of around Barry?
Each of these places that we have lost has an impact on the people of Barry, in leisure, entertainment, working environments and now even our death.
What is wrong with the Waterfront housing area?
Why force housing into an area that the people of Barry wish to be kept as it is, but kept well-maintained, as the front of the civic offices has/will be kept.
When I voted in the last election, I voted for a council that would listen to the people of Barry - I did not vote for a Vale of Glamorgan Council Funeral Department' to screw the lid down on the people of Barry and the approach to their cemetery.
C W Vickery Greenbanks Drive Barry
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