At long last, there is real hope for our town
AS residents of Worthing, what is our overall perception of the place we live in?
And, perhaps equally as significant, how do people outside the town perceive it?
Unfortunately, talking to a Hove resident the other day, I experienced the downside of asking outright for an opinion.
When asked for his appraisal of Worthing, my friend was blunt; a town centre that in places resembles a ghost town, a farce that doubles for a parking policy and an unhealthy number of chavs and teenage mothers.
Strong stuff. And while it's only one opinion, it's something which, as a proud Worthing resident, upset me somewhat.
Is this how outsiders see us?
The ghost town factor is not just exclusive to Worthing – the credit crunch has shut shops everywhere.
Parking is an issue, but how long have we got?!
And as for the chavs and young mums, while I'll admit they do exist, as they do in places all over the country, to say the town is full of them is on the cusp of generalisation and exaggeration.
But what do we think of the town we live in?
As someone nearer to 50 than 40, my view is the borough, over the years, has grossly underachieved when it has come to developing the place and, at times, acts of stupidity have ruled the day.
Every time Worthing's ship came in, it appeared the people in authority were at the airport!
Montague Street could have allegedly been turned into one of the first indoor shopping arcades in this country over 40 years ago: blocked at the Town Hall.
What major investment there has been in the town appears to have been mismanaged; Teville Gate, The Guildbourne and The Montague Centre (the latter at the expense of the best cinema in the town) all have been retail white elephants.
A school of thought on the council that we are a town by the sea, rather than a seaside town, has seen the local tourist industry all but dismantled.
Perhaps underachieving was the wrong word.
There was no need for the circus to visit the town annually because the clowns have been in residence in the council chamber.
But when will it all stop?
Well, hopefully, it has.
As I said last week, I consider myself apolitical, but having met council leader Paul Yallop the other week regarding the possible formation of a council-backed boxing club, and having subsequently talked to people on both sides of the political divide, I am probably more optimistic about the future of Worthing than I have been for many years.
Cllr Yallop doesn't dress things up. He knows the problems we have, be they financial or social. He knows it won't be easy taking the town forward.
One of the key things for me, and a real clincher, is something many other people, including myself, share with him; his belief that investing in the youngsters in this town with improved facilities is the key to a better future.
Regardless of what the man from Hove said about chavs, the overwhelming majority of youngsters in this town are good people.
Investing in them and the generation after that will only benefit us all.
Ian Hart's comment is published in the Herald series every Thursday
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Weather for Worthing
Sunday 27 May 2012
Today
Sunny
Temperature: 11 C to 22 C
Wind Speed: 16 mph
Wind direction: South east
Tomorrow
Light showers
Temperature: 13 C to 21 C
Wind Speed: 17 mph
Wind direction: West
