Just spoke to a women about Corsham. She said Corsham was much better years ago. She said Corsham had a railway station, a co-op which sold furniture and clothes, a cinema, a labour exchange(job centre to us young folks). And all this with less than half the population of Corsham now, progress doesn't always mean things will get better, she said!! All i can say is, she's probably right, but i love Corsham, we can improve things for the better! Quentin

I like that Corsham is quite small and there's not a lot to it. I'd never want it to get too big or urban with loads of traffic going through or litter. We'd probably end up with loads of congestion and those traffic lights we all protested about! Look at the centre of Chippenham compared to our high street - I know what I prefer. The efforts for Corsham in Bloom this year brightened everything up and if Corsham got any bigger or busier, we might lose that community spirit that makes the town what it is.

Yes a station would be great, but they've been on about it for ages and it's just stalled. Because of unemployment and Corsham doesn't have a Jobcentre, people are told they have to go to Chippenham. So who is going to pay the bus fares for unemployed people to go to Chippenham? The sad answer is themselves, which is a disgrace since we used to have one here!! As for the Cinema, if the pounds arts centre shows films which are currently in other cinema's around the country then it's good. However if they show independent films and not the blockbusters as in other cinema's then maybe the odeon is probably best depending on your tastes. But i'll certainly check it out. Q

What i meant was, Corsham was a much smaller community in the 1960s/1970s than it is now! Yet there was much more shops and facilities to go to then! I was walking down the high street on a saturday afternoon near the post office recently and it was like a ghost town. 30 or 40 years ago this area would of been thriving!! It's no wonder people who remember that era call it the golden age of Corsham! The way things are with budget cuts, etc. It's unlikely that we will ever see that golden age again!

I agree that we don't want to get to urban! No i haven't seen market, i only get weekends off, perhaps they should have market on saturday. On the jobcentre thing, when we left school half the class went to sign on together in corsham, i had hoped the next generation would have the same service in Corsham, not be worse off! I think Corsham has forgotten that it is a town status!! We have the same status as Chippenham!! Suppose a elderly widow who lives on her own wants a new tv set, why should she have to go to Chippenham or Bath to buy one if we're supposed to be a town??

I've found that the Blockbusters shown at the Arts Centre are ones that are newly out on DVD? Instead of spending £5 each ticket for my family - amounting to £20, I could just rent the DVD from a rental shop instead for £3. If the Pounds Art Centre got the newly released films when the cinemas did, then I think it'd be more popular - but that seems like it'd be very costly and Corsham is only a little town!

I like that Corsham remains small and there just isn't the space or means to have things like television shops when there's Curry's in Chippenham. Let them have all the bulky big shops and we'll keep our quirky little businesses, thank you!

I was surprised to see the Big Issue sellers in Corsham, what kind of help is there for homeless people in the area? I would have thought the nearest hostel is in Bath, do we need one in Corsham, especially now the weather is taking a bad turn?

Thank you for you support L_Victoria, you and your mum clearly enjoy the films we have!

In reply to boxrat, we would love it if we could have blockbusters when they are released, I don't deal with that side of things here, but it's probably something to do with money, although I'll put it forward and see if we can look into it for the future as it is a good point/suggestion.

A thriving town is not all about shops and a train station, but there is more here than some think. Some of us enjoy the specialist shops like the fancy jeweller, the comic shop, the deli and the upmarket baby shop, and I bet they draw in strangers too.
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But we also have all kinds of every day services: a decent supermarket (that could still do with a lick of paint on the upper floor), two pharmacies, two hardware stores, an everyday jeweller, two florists, travel agent, two banks, discount family clothing, gift shops, stationer, car parts, dentist, garages, pubs, a couple of coffee shops and even a new bike shop ...
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We don't have the thronging High Street of small towns in the sixties, but few small towns do. There is just too much of an economy of scale for car owners to trek to the edge of town, free parking big box stores. Unlike other towns, we don't have many 'to let' signs in the High Street, but perhaps we could do more.
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What do other towns the size of Corsham do to keep the life in their town centres?

I moved to Corsham in March, as I found a house here that I fell in love with. I think it has it's own really special charm. When I walk down to the post office, past the wobbly high hedge of Corsham Court, along the lovely cobbled pavement I breathe fresh air and feel light hearted. I moved from Bristol, and I am very happy here. Yes it doesn't have much in the way of shops, but with those come traffic, hassle, starbucks...... Argghhhh no thanks. What it could do with is a bit more in the way of eye-catching and unique shops, with quirky windows and unsual things inside. But I love this town. I go to Bath for the big stuff.