Kemble - station, facilities, improvements, events and incidents - merged posts

[whole diary]

[Chris from Nailsea]

220 spaces according to National Rail - see http://www.nationalrail.co.uk/stations/kem/details.html 

[Super Guard]

Wifey can count them while I get "Apcoa connect" to work 

[Chris from Nailsea]

Good one, Donkey Guard! 

I'm by no means a frequent visitor to Kemble Station, but from my very limited experience, I'd suggest that the total number of spaces is probably nearer 336 than 220 - but they are generally full during the day.  However, I don't know how early in the day they get filled.

Hope this helps. 

[Chris from Nailsea]

From the Wilts and Gloucestershire Standard:

Residents in Kemble take action over problem parkers

Problems caused by rail users parking all day in a Gloucestershire village and clogging up the roads is being tackled head-on.

Kemble Parish Council has been concerned for some time about commuters driving into the village to use the rail station and, rather than paying to use the train station car park, parking for free on the residential roads.

Reports have been made of some cars being left in the village for up to two weeks, causing obstructions on the roads.

At a recent meeting of the Parish Council, chairman Cllr Roger Pettit said there were a number of possibilities the council could explore to relieve the problem, such as setting up a new low-cost car park near the station.

^I think its incumbent on us to explore options further,^ he said. ^We are not enthusiastic about yellow lines in the village ^ I^d like to think there may be other options.^

He added he hoped residents would co-operate with the council in finding a solution to the problem.

^If residents are so upset then they may be prepared to make a contribution via a council tax levy for example,^ he said.

Cllr Gabi Somerville said she felt that, even if a low-cost car park was provided, many commuters would continue to park on the road.

^The street is free and if it^s closer to the station they they^re going to park there,^ she said.

She added an option may be to enforce residents-only parking restrictions throughout the village.

The council agreed to set up a working group to work with Gloucestershire County Council^s highways department to find a solution to the problem.

GCC local highways manager for Kemble Scott MaCaulay-Lowe said the council was working with Kemble Parish Council to address the problem and would be meeting with them soon to discuss it.

[JayMac]

From the BBC^» (British Broadcasting Corporation - home page):

The Prince of Wales has visited a Gloucestershire railway station and received further congratulations on becoming a grandfather.

Prince Charles travelled to Kemble Railway Station, 10 miles (16km) from his Highgrove home, to officially open the once-derelict station garden.

There, he was shown how the station garden had been brought back to life.

The prince was presented with a card, flowers and soft toys as the small crowd passed on congratulations.

'Fantastic grandfather'

He told George Austin, 9, that it was a "great moment" when he met his grandson adding "it's fun to be a grandfather".

Sue Skinner, the grandmother of George, lives in Kemble and was visiting the station with her husband Peter and two grandchildren.

"I think he will make the most fantastic grandfather. He was brilliant with these two. Being a grandparent is very special," she said.

Brothers Oliver Horne, 4, and Daniel, 22 months, presented the prince with a card offering him congratulations on becoming a grandfather.

Their mother, Nicola Horne, 38, who lives in Cirencester, said she thought he was really touched.

"He asked Oliver 'Have you got a granny and grandad?' and Oliver told him he had", she said.

"It was great for the boys to meet him, they love the new baby and were so excited to see him on the television."

The Kemble garden, which includes a dry stone wall with built-in seating, was designed by local company Designspace Outdoors and worked on by staff and students from the Royal Agricultural University in Cirencester.

First Great Western undertook the work to improve the station and community environment.

During a short speech, the prince said he was "thrilled" to officially open the garden and paid tribute to Dawn Adams, a grandmother of 12, who has campaigned since 2001 to see the garden brought back to life.

Nice to see a few more plants and a few less weeds, which was what I saw on my visit to Kemble station on 5th June this year. The garden will no doubt look amazing once the plants start to grow out.

Sadly, when I visited, I got neither a meet and greet with local dignitaries or a commemorative plaque. 



Kemble is a gem of a station, beautifully kept and maintained. A credit to all the staff involved in its presentation. If only more FGW^▸ (First Great Western) stations had such care and attention....

[Phil]

Intrigued to know how the health & safety gurus managed to get permission to cover over that manhole cover in time for the Prince's visit.

[ChrisB]

Possibly only for the few minutes he was there?

[Red Squirrel]

Kemble is a gem of a station, beautifully kept and maintained. A credit to all the staff involved in its presentation. If only more FGW^▸ (First Great Western) stations had such care and attention....

Be even nicer if you could change there for Ciren and Tetbury...

[bobm]

..and for the sake of clarity and continuity as someone from this parish would say (and he does like Kemble too!) - the manhole cover was back in evidence this morning



I only had five minutes between trains but I couldn't see a plaque to say our future King had officially opened it, but then me eyes ain't as good as they used to be....

[Red Squirrel]

..and for the sake of clarity and continuity as someone from this parish would say (and he does like Kemble too!) - the manhole cover was back in evidence this morning

Can't you get maintenance covers in the form of a tray, so that you can fill them with gravel or pavers? Perhaps we should club together and buy them one?

[JayMac]

I'm wondering why it was felt necessary to temporarily cover it in the first place.

Were Brian's security detail afeared of militant republicans coming up from the sewers?

[Red Squirrel]

I'm wondering why it was felt necessary to temporarily cover it in the first place.

Were Brian's security detail afeared of militant republicans coming up from the sewers?

Well as you will know, they breed in the sewers, and eventually you get evil-smelling flocks of huge soiled militant republicans flying out of people^s inspection covers infringing their personal freedom.

[ellendune]

..and for the sake of clarity and continuity as someone from this parish would say (and he does like Kemble too!) - the manhole cover was back in evidence this morning

Can't you get maintenance covers in the form of a tray, so that you can fill them with gravel or pavers? Perhaps we should club together and buy them one?

You can indeed, but they are not rigid enough and so they get stuck and you cannot open them. Also if you just filled them with gravel you would not be able to see them so it would be difficult to find when you needed it.  I know you could have a good plan but it would just get lost and never be made available to the bloke sent to sort any problem.

[Chris from Nailsea]

..and for the sake of clarity and continuity as someone from this parish would say (and he does like Kemble too!) ...

... that'll be me, then? 

[ChrisB]

Could the photo simply have been photoshopped?