WE all enjoy a good moan sometimes. The Gazette has put together a list of 15 things people who live in Basingstoke love to rant about. Let us know if there’s anything we’ve missed by using the comments facility below.
1. People going right on the Winchester Road roundabout when they are in the left hand lane, in order to cut the queue – you know who you are!
2. Wind and solar farms – you either love them or hate them, but those who hate them certainly love to moan about them!
3. The signs put up by anti-wind farm protesters – according to the wind farm supporters, these signs are blighting our landscapes more than the wind farms themselves.
4. Traffic – whether you’re stuck in a queue near the Black Dam roundabout or trying to merge on to the ring road by the Morrison’s roundabout at 5pm, wasting time stuck in a jam is top of our list of complaints.
5. Bad parking – from someone illegally using a disabled space to blocking a driveway, the list of complaints about other people’s parking habits is endless.
The driver of the Mercedes pictured below hit national news for this unfortunate parking at Lidl, Basingstoke.
6. Chuggers in Wote Street – the people who pay you a compliment in order to charm you into parting with your money for charity.
7. Since losing Dulcies, Barratts and Faith, Basingstoke people love to rant about there being too few shoe shops. That is, until someone points out we have a Clarks, Schuh, Shoe Zone, Deichmann and Jones, plus various department stores selling shoes.
8. Travellers – their arrival in the summer months causes no end of complaints from those living near an unauthorised encampment.
9. Potholes – particularly the ones near Rooksdown and in the Oakley area of Basingstoke. The unlucky man pictured below fell down one near Basingstoke hospital.
10. Maria Miller – Basingstoke’s MP might have apologised for her expenses, but she hasn’t escaped the wrath of some of her constituents.
11. The nightlife – we might have numerous bars and pubs, but according to the people of Basingstoke, there’s nowhere to go out in the evenings.
12. Too many coffee shops – seven Costa Coffee outlets is a bit extreme for one town, but can you locate where they all are? The picture below shows the Leisure Park Costa being built.
13. The speed humps in Pack Lane – they’ve been there for years, but we still can’t let it go.
14. Buses - their frequency, lateness and bus drivers not accepting notes are all included in general bus complaints.
15. A lack of things to do for young people. We have two cinemas, a bowling facility, shops, ice rink, indoor skydiving centre (pictured below) and go karting, but for the young people of the town, it’s just not enough.
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