Dartmouth Park Restoration - III

Well it looks as though the builders of the concrete steps are grinding their weary way to some sort of a conclusion.

Certainly some gates have appeared and the general shape of the concrete hasn't changed much in the last few weeks.

All the signs are that the end is in sight. Which isn't bad, I suppose, if you consider it's only 7 months since Sandwell and the National Lottery started to build them -- and only (almost) a year since Sandwell destroyed the stone stairway which occupied the adjacent piece of ground.

So a huge sigh of relief all round, particularly from those people who, until a year ago, had access to Dartmouth Park from a Sandwell Valley car park.

Of course, I may be being a shade presumptious there. Sandwell being Sandwell means it doesn't necessarily follow that the gates will be opened to permit people to pass through them.

To those who have no direct knowledge of Sandwell, this may sound somewhat foolish. But there is another rather larger car park on the site which, in 2008, Sandwell painted parking bays all over and built a dividing barrier complete with lockable gate which split the car park into two pieces roughly 1/3rd and 2/3rds. Since then, for a large part of each year, and for no obvious reason, cars are restricted to the 1/3rd portion.

At Sandwell, reason and logic don't seem to exist. People just decide things, and they are done - eventually.

So if the Sandwell Intelligentia take it into their heads that they don't want people trampling all over the new concrete steps, you can be sure those shiny new gates will remain firmly locked!!

One other thing.

You may recall me suggesting, in my 8th November, 2010 post, that, just possibly, the massed intellect of Sandwell; the National Lottery, and the architect who has poured his whole life's experience and creativity into this set of concrete steps, may have missed something.

The more I look at these steps, the more convinced I become. And I recently invited a colleague to comment - having been most careful not to lead the witness in any way.

To my surprise, and gratification, after barely a few seconds study, he made exactly the same observation as I had done.

So I will wait a little longer, until I am quite sure that the concrete steps, in their present form, are complete. I mean, let's face it, this is Sandwell. They could be months yet before they finish them.

But when they are finally; definitely and absolutely finished, I will check again to see if my point is still valid.

If it is, I'll let you know then!!