Didcot should be confident

5:24pm Wednesday 14th May 2008

A new logo aimed at 'rebranding' Didcot has received a mixed reaction. Hardly surprising, as these attempts at encapsulating places and things in a single brand are usually doomed to failure.

Didcot is, of course, much more than a town in the middle of science parks. One might also ask why the designers have picked a theme from outside the town's boundary and not from within it.

The truth is that no amount of spending on a brand - and £100,000 does seem rather a lot - will get Didcot where it wants to be.

The transformation has to be physical - and it is already well under way.

The Orchard Centre, its shops and new cinema have already breathed new life into Didcot. A huge extension is proposed.

Of equal importance will be the way in which thousands of new homes and their associated facilities and infrastructure are developed over coming years.

These are the things that will mark Didcot out in the future.

People are right to be confident about Didcot - not only because it is surrounded by some of the country's most go-ahead businesses, but because of what is going on within the town.

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