IT is good news that the Long Bench has won yet another award (Gazette, March 8).
The latest, from the Civic Trust, is, we are told, a Special Award for Community Impact and Engagement.
Because of the large number of entrants to the competition, it is very unlikely that the judges visit each submission to see them first-hand. Instead they most likely make their judgements from photographs and plans.
I doubt very much whether they have actually tried the bench out and found how uncomfortable it is, or have seen how ineffective the shelters are in sheltering people from the elements and found how little used they are.
Although visually appealing, the bench and shelters are not, in my view, functionally very useful at all, and do not warrant an award for “engaging with the community”.
Patrick Mason
The Martlets
Rustington
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