Just in case anyone would like to read it (and hopefully email a comment to
letters@leamingtoncourier.co.uk)
What's wrong with Warwick by Peter Ormerod
Warwick’s a funny place, isn’t it? Its name has a prestige and allure arguably unrivalled in the Midlands, being appropriated by businesses and organisations that have nothing to do with the town (see Moss Bros’s Warwick range of wedding clobber, or Warwick University, or Warwick Gates). Millions of drivers will have seen brown signs pointing them to Historic Warwick, and it lends its name to roads and streets in towns and cities nationwide.
If you’d never been there, you’d think you were missing something. But the question must be asked: weren’t you just a bit disappointed when you first went?
It certainly has its attractions. Parts of the town centre are undeniably pretty, with the view of the castle from Banbury Road indisputably magnifient. Yet somehow, it doesn’t quite work. There’s an oddly hollow and disparate feel to the place.
Two problems the town faces are symptomatic of its lack of cohesion. One is that its annual pancake race may not take place this year - purely because the chap who normally organises it has been away. The other is that work is yet to begin on a community centre for the Chase Meadow housing estate, in the town’s south-western corner. Both demonstrate a certain lethargy, sluggishness and soullessness.
Perhaps part of the blame lies with decades of poor planning. Warwick’s body seems somehow dismembered, like a miniature Stoke-on-Trent. It various estates - Packmores, Percy, Woodloes, Forbes, and so on - mesh none too well, and they comprise the bulk of the town. They are not without merit - indeed, they recall the town’s proud industrial heritage - but they are unlikely to feature on any postcards. Market Place meanwhile remains a windswept semi-plaza under Shire Hall’s drab, empty gaze. And there is not a single shop in Warwick that would tempt me away from Leamington.
But the problem goes deeper than aesthetics and architecture. It is a mark of the place that we as a paper have struggled for some time with our coverage of Warwick. This has not always been for want of trying, or due to our journalists’ lack of ability (two Warwick reporters from recent years now work on national newspapers). It’s more that, bar a few douty, public-spirited stalwarts, few people seem to care that much about it, and stories are harder to come by than they ought to be. By way of comparison, Kenilworth (population 22,500) usually has 12 pages devoted to it in the Weekly News; Warwick (population 25,000) usually has only three in the Courier.
There is doubtless much good going on in Warwick. Its literary and folk festivals now have a national profile, and it continues to attract businesses and tourists. Its Victorian evening before Christmas was great fun, and it also has some of the best pubs and restaurants in the county. But, overall, it seems for the moment rather like a sad, reclusive middle-aged bloke who feels his best years are behind him. Yes, he enjoys the odd night out - but unfortunately those just show him what’s missing in his life.
Now, I would enjoy being proved wrong on all this. If you can let us know of things that are going on in Warwick of which we’re unaware, please do. If you can suggest any improvements in our coverage of Warwick, go ahead. We will continue to do what we can for Warwick; the rest is up to you.