They call this listening?

[asperity 699]

Establishes the principle of levying a charge on S/Markets.

They aren't "levying a charge on supermarkets" they're levying a charge on the use of plastic bags. Surely even you can see the difference?

[Bazj 500]

and the same charge will be levied on bags from high street shops too.... even more reason to go to the Trafford Centre for the free parking

[Dizzy 392]

Haven't the government been pressing supermarkets for ages to stop giving out so many free carrier bags due to environmental concerns and to encourage people to use their own bags ot to buy a bag for life for 10p (or whatever) which gets replaced free of charge if it ever breaks? 

 

Some even said that carrier bags can take 1000 years to rot away (really? I though they had all been changed to rot down quicker now and be more environmentally friendly? ).  Fair enough and yet at the same time councils are now telling people to bag their waste in carrier bags to stop flies etc since the introduction of fortnightly bin collections. 

 

It doesn't make sense.

 

At the end of the day it's not really a big problem if we all have to use our own bags to carry our shopping home I suppose (although I must admit I always forget to take my bags for life) ........

 

....so where do I get my own reusable 10p 'parking space for life' that I can take with me whenever I go shopping... now that would be nice      

[Eagle 36]

Parking to plastic bags, only on WWW.

 

 BTW, the supermarkets are collecting voluntarily a charitable donation from bag users.

[asperity 699]

Blame Obs         again

[Dizzy 392]

    I did try though

[Coffee 25]

This one Coffee.  The town hall is just out of shot on the left.

 

Thanks, wonder who will use it as a short term car park? An additional long stay car park for the station is desperately needed around there. As for the building it is kind of a shame, how long has it been empty for?

 

For your edification, Pickles has just produced draft guidance on parking.

 

• Recent reviews on how to revitalise ailing high streets have recommended more, and cheaper, parking in town centres
• The draft National Planning Practice Guidance includes new guidance on parking which says that planners ‘should not penalise motorists’ through reducing parking provision
• However, the guidance also instructs planners to consider the needs of vulnerable road users first, and puts drivers at the bottom of this list, arguing that the aim should be to create streets that are attractive public spaces
• The economic benefits of providing more parking are contested – while the government says that the ‘anti-car dogma’ of councils is hurting local economies, another study reports that pedestrians spend two to six times more in their local shops compared with people arriving by car

 

This really shows how politicians are out of touch

 

Cars are an esential part of life and althouigh I would happily walk or cycle to the shops I need the shops to be close by. In years gone by the buses would stop on the high street, now I would need to carry my shopping across town to the bus station. In years gone by there were local shops. IN years gone by buses would go directly to the factories where people work for free, non of this now apply anymore. I simply would not have the time to walk to town never mind spend six times more time in a shop.

 

Which brings me onto another subject, does anyone really belive the reports from Living Streets, I mean "padestrians spend 2 to 6 times more then people arriving by car"? Maybe at a local corner shop.

 

Some people still believe that aliens live on Mars, but no one take anything these people  say seriously.

 

Still I look forward to politicians giving up their cars.

 

 

If they can make these stores charge for plastic bags, why can't they charge  for parking too?!

 

This was labour policy a few years ago was it not, they were going to tax car park spaces at supermarkets and work places.

 

Going out so no time to spell check, going to Penketh, wonder what time the bus is from Orford and more imprtantly back again,

[Dizzy 392]

Good post Coffee !

 

As for the building I seem to remember reading on the planning info that it it's been empty for a couple of years although I thought the electrical shop/warehouse that ran from there was still open until recently as I was sure that's where my neighbour had been going for his electrical/plumbing stuff.  Odd. 

 

 Can't say I particularly liked the building though although I guess in it's time having a rounded side was pretty unique.  Shame it couldn't have been converted into something more useful or fun than a car park.  Hey with it's shape it could have been a roller rink like we used to have in town    Those were the days

 

As for the busses from Orford to Penketh and back... if they are Network Warrington one you use you will have a long wait... they are on 24 hour strike until midnight 

[Eagle 36]

 

Which brings me onto another subject, does anyone really belive the reports from Living Streets, I mean "padestrians spend 2 to 6 times more then people arriving by car"? Maybe at a local corner shop.

I would agree with that at my local corner shop, pedestrians tend to 'do a shop' whereas drivers tend to call in for a paper or packet of cigs.

[Evil Sid 607]

Pedestrian :- somebody who has managed to find a parking place for their car.

[Eagle 36]

Pedestophile..........someone who loves walkers (careful spelling).

[Evil Sid 607]

Pedestophile..........someone who loves walkers (careful spelling).

 I thought that was Gary Linaker  

[Freeborn John 87]

And moving swiftly back to parking, why on earth hasn't the empty land next to the Bowling Green pub been pressed into service by whoever owns it?

It's been lying idle since they knocked an old theatre down, which is going back a bit.

[Coffee 25]

Pedestrian :- somebody who has managed to find a parking place for their car.

 

 

Pedestophile..........someone who loves walkers (careful spelling).

 

lol

[grey_man 200]

Bah.

 

You pop in to see whether Steve Parrish has expanded on his Making it Difficult to Go to the Shops is Good for Shoppers and Shops Theory and there's nothing.

 

Come on Steve. You can't be that busy.  

[RingoDave 0]

One for Dizzy - <link removed sorry>

 

The only thing I have against this is the "Warrington, Cheshire" bit. As people know by now, the centre of Warrington is still in Lancashire, whatever the Police Authority says.

Edited September 28, 2013 by Dizzy
link had to be removed sorry... but I took note first ha ha

[Dizzy 392]

Anyone know what's going on now with the parking situation and rethink re the Forge Car Park recent increase, loss of 2 hours free parking and the petition/letters from all the traders etc etc etc ?

 

In the free local paper around here there is a letter which basically says that....

 

"Cllr Lawrence Murphy has recently sent a letter to all the traders in Stockton Heath confirming that the results of his survey, delivered to every home in Stockton Heath shows 'overwhelming resident support' to retain the current 50p charges for 2 hours parking".

 

I'm yet to come across anyone local who is in favour of the reduction to 1 hour free parking and 50p there after (upto 2 hours).  In the same vein though they are not in favour of the councils so called 'compromise' of making it 30p for 2 hours chargable from the minute you park either.

 

Did anyone get one of the surveys and what questions were actually asked on it and how were they worded. Were different proposals put forward that people could choose from?  Just wondering out of interest that's all having had past experience of council surveys and clever wording.   I;m sure that wasn't the case though.

 

Also.... why were only Stockton Heath Parish residents consulted ?  What about everyone else who, although maybe in another Parish by boundary, still live just as close to the village and car park as the crow flies.... and what about other regular users of the car park ?  Surely everyone should have been consulted to make it a fair representation of views.

[Bazj 500]

You should know this councils idea of consultation by now Dizz..... they don't bother asking anyone and then go ahead with whatever plans they had in the first place.... that's "democracy in akshun"

[middlec 10]

I would be highly surprised if more than a 100 people were surveyed. In my experience that's the way council surveys work! They get 100 views and take this as representative of everyone. ( a bit like pre-election poll surveys.......ask 100 people how they intend to vote then escalate the views to portray the voting trend nationally) What is a mockery is how they talk about "residents" being affected. No, it's people coming from outside of Stockton Heath to shop and bringing trade to the area that it affects, not necessarily residents! But councillors and objectors to the charge appear to miss this vital point. Car parking should be an amenity, and free. Charging just forces more and more people to shop at the giant retail establishments outside the area, where parking is free. And surely Warrington is a prime example of exactly what can happen to a town centre when no-one cares a jot about shoppers or trade, just take one look at Bridge Street. And the attitude of parking on the Riverside retail park? One wheel over the white line and a huge fine and clamped. "Go away shoppers, we don't want you here" attitude.

[Coffee 25]

I would be highly surprised if more than a 100 people were surveyed. In my experience that's the way council surveys work! They get 100 views and take this as representative of everyone. ( a bit like pre-election poll surveys.......ask 100 people how they intend to vote then escalate the views to portray the voting trend nationally)

 

But that is true of most survays. That is how they arrive at the passive smoking statistics.

 

 

Car parking should be an amenity, and free. Charging just forces more and more people to shop at the giant retail establishments outside the area, where parking is free. And surely Warrington is a prime example of exactly what can happen to a town centre when no-one cares a jot about shoppers or trade, just take one look at Bridge Street. And the attitude of parking on the Riverside retail park? One wheel over the white line and a huge fine and clamped. "Go away shoppers, we don't want you here" attitude.

 

Car parking can not be free, there is a cost in running a car park that needs to be paid for, so the question is who should pay for it and how.

[asperity 699]

I should imagine that the major cost of running a car park is paying staff to collect the car parking fees. A bit of a circular argument I think.

[grey_man 200]

The good news is that by the time Stockton Heath has passed the showbar and kebab shop event horizon, which appears to be the council's plan, they'll have earned enough money in parking charges and fines to put in some new paving and a few planters to entice people back to the shops that no longer exist there. Let's see how it works first in Bridge Street.  

[Coffee 25]

I should imagine that the major cost of running a car park is paying staff to collect the car parking fees. A bit of a circular argument I think.

 

HOwever running costs are still there. The alternative is to pass the cost on to the retailers who will close if the rates get to high or to the public through council tax, so I guess you want to pay mor in council tax?

 

 Let's see how it works first in Bridge Street.  

Bridge Street is not really a good comparison as most of the shops have moved to Golden Square and Golden Square seems to be doing OK.

 

Bridge Street needs some initiatives to entice new businesses , maybe more specialist independent shops into the empty shops on the street.

 

I never understand Boots move to the Golden Square the old shop was far better

[asperity 699]

Why shouldn't the retailers share whatever costs are involved? After all they are the ones benefitting from the customers being able to park nearby. And of course I wouldn't want part of my Council Tax being used for it because a) I never shop there and I don't have a car in any case.

[grey_man 200]

The issue is that the council makes a surplus from the car park without any of the changes. It doesn't cost them anything, it makes a profit. So maybe the council should just take a car park that makes a profit for them already and serves the best interests of shoppers, retailers, a medical centre and local residents in terms of on street parking and bloody well leave it alone. 

 

The losses the council makes on parking aren't here. So by your reckoning, it is the people the council currently subsidises that should pay to cover the deficit in costs. So that would be council staff, councillors and residents in those parts of town that have loss-making on-street parking schemes.