Milky Posted May 21, 2018 Report Share Posted May 21, 2018 4 hours ago, Confused52 said: Debating here whether the new temp market is a success or whether the new one will be? Can I ask what was wrong with the old market? Although it wasn't as busy as it used to be it wasn't exactly deserted, the food hall seemed to suffer less then the non food section and it badly needed refurbishing. The purpose of the new market along with the cinema, car park, office block and I guess park is to regenerate Bridge st and the rest of the town centre! Will that happen, that is the £100 million plus question? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Confused52 Posted May 21, 2018 Report Share Posted May 21, 2018 If I were to be cynical I would say that the actual purpose of the development was to cut WBC costs. The key output is the offices which are just for the council, the objective being to stop paying rent where they currently do such as New Town House. Next was to provide car parking space for their employees moving inti the offices. To do so they need an anchor usage that uses and hence pays for the car park when the offices are not in use so the key anchor tenant had to be an entertainment in the evening. There then needed to be supplementary uses that would feed the punters before and after entertainment. The Cinema is the golden goose which uses the Car Park and the rent for which pays the loan the council has from the Public Works Loans Board to build the whole thing. The Market and the Shops are somewhat of an afterthought. We can show the key linkage to be true because the projections of the cinema got bigger as audience increased so the council made the offices bigger to close more existing office accommodation and the costs grew. The major impact is really then the offices but the annual 4 million price of the loan for the whole project is a risk that the council tax payers are taking. If the cinema folds or under performs the shops and market rents are mitigating factors to reduce the cuts in services or increases in charges that the town would face. The project is a gamble to avoid significant changes in the way the council operates. The objective of the whole plan is to make the Council offices cost nothing in rent to WBC whilst making Bridge Street and Time Square look more open and modern. The regeneration of the town is a patchwork of individual projects which may work together but only this one is so far funded by capital borrowing and has some benefit to the public. Birchwood Park, Matalan, DW Sports are all commercial profit seekers to increase income without any civic benefit other than income for the council. We are told that the old market was particularly unsavoury in the storage and delivery areas and needed considerable work. The market needed to go first to get the offices in the right place for the car park so it was always going to be reworked but it is collateral damage in the main plan as far as I can see. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
asperity Posted May 21, 2018 Report Share Posted May 21, 2018 I went to the new (temporary) market today. It looked okay if a bit cramped, but I have to have a whinge about the food court - it was full of people stuffing their faces! Have they no homes to go to? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Evil Sid Posted May 22, 2018 Report Share Posted May 22, 2018 Last time was at a food court two tables got cleared of a salt but were found guilty on pepper. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
asperity Posted May 22, 2018 Report Share Posted May 22, 2018 Should be in the jokes thread Sid . Good one though . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Milky Posted May 22, 2018 Report Share Posted May 22, 2018 On 5/21/2018 at 12:24 PM, Confused52 said: If I were to be cynical I would say that the actual purpose of the development was to cut WBC costs. What you say kind of makes sense but then why put the offices there? It would make more sense to put them on the vacant land opposite the train station. Access is easier, parking available at the GS car park which isn't that busy weekdays, I guess I am missing something. 13 hours ago, Evil Sid said: Last time was at a food court two tables got cleared of a salt but were found guilty on pepper. Lol, it is so bad it is quite good Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Confused52 Posted May 22, 2018 Report Share Posted May 22, 2018 Milky, the council don't own the GS car park, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Milky Posted May 22, 2018 Report Share Posted May 22, 2018 3 hours ago, Confused52 said: Milky, the council don't own the GS car park, Oh, OK now I understand. Always thought both car parks belong to WBC. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Davy51 Posted May 29, 2018 Report Share Posted May 29, 2018 Perhaps a start to reinvigorating the town centre especially in leisure terms would be to look at the public transport system. People can't become town centre customers without the means to get there & back home safely & the car is out of the question if drinking alcohol is part of the visit. Taxis & private hire is expensive & unreliable these days so why not have a major rethink about the buses ? Many towns & cities run late night or all night buses to get revellers & even late night workers back home....in Warrington too many services either disappear after 7pm or are greatly curtailed. Cheap reliable public transport could benefit the community as well as the town centre & bus company .Warrington is such a sprawling place that it must be easier for many people to get to surrounding towns than our own town centre. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill Posted May 29, 2018 Report Share Posted May 29, 2018 I can only speak for myself but when I venture into town I'm inevitably with my wife or a small group so the car is always going to be preferable to public transport. Of course someone has to be the nominated driver but that's true even if you're not visiting the centre. What puts me off and I think a lot of others, is the uncertainty of safe parking during the evening. My drinking mate is quite happy to use his car to drive out to a country pub but just won't go into the town at night for fear of drunken job damaging his nice paintwork and I can understand his concerns. For years, I used to park on the roller rink car park on Academy Street until I got hit with a sixty pound fine when they installed surveillance cameras. A few years before that I got another sixty pound fine again for parking somewhere I'd parked for years before the owner employed a clamping firm. So if they want to get me back into town, then provide some safe parking ideally free of charge. Bill 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
P J Posted May 30, 2018 Report Share Posted May 30, 2018 On 29/05/2018 at 3:56 PM, Bill said: So if they want to get me back into town, then provide some safe parking ideally free of charge. Bill You must be the only person who has somehow managed not to spot the shiny, new and secure car park which has replaced the old market one. 24 hour security and surveillance cameras all over the shop. Must be worth a couple of quid for peace of mind and in the day time the 1st 3 hours parking are free, you simply need to validate your ticket at the market. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Milky Posted May 31, 2018 Report Share Posted May 31, 2018 Tesco are shutting down their online shop from 9 June, Tesco say they can not see a way of making it profitable! It is interesting that these days the high street shops can't make a profit but neither can the online shops. Amazon for example have only just started making a small profit and are investing in the high street. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
asperity Posted June 1, 2018 Report Share Posted June 1, 2018 Amazon make very large profits but these have been re-invested in growing the business. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Davy51 Posted June 1, 2018 Report Share Posted June 1, 2018 We were in Southport yesterday & that too has been hit hard by store closures. Lord St has gaps everywhere & it seems that charity shops & little private ventures of possibly here today gone tomorrow businesses are the order of the day. Even BHS is still empty & the Woolworth's store must be one of the biggest charity shops in Britain. The most prosperous industry seems to be car parking. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Milky Posted June 1, 2018 Report Share Posted June 1, 2018 14 hours ago, asperity said: Amazon make very large profits but these have been re-invested in growing the business. OK Amazon might be a bad example, although they have been loss making for years, whether that is because of accounting or it has been loss making? However fact remains a few make money in e business many don't. I briefly ventured into e business but what stopped me making a profit was customer returns Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
asperity Posted June 1, 2018 Report Share Posted June 1, 2018 1 minute ago, Milky said: OK Amazon might be a bad example, although they have been loss making for years, whether that is because of accounting or it has been loss making. However fact remains a few make money in e business many don't. I briefly ventured into e business but what stopped me making a profit was customer returns You are correct, Amazon doesn't make it's $Billions of profit from online retail, but they do delare a "loss" because to a business a "loss" is a tax avoidance mechanism. This is why everyone is up in arms about multinationals not paying tax. They divert their profits to places where their tax liabilities are low to zero, and declare losses in places where the taxes are high. This is called business (or common) sense. What people don't understand is that it is not your right, but your duty to avoid (not evade) tax. Tax is what the government has legislated that you should pay them. If you are happy with the tax that they have demanded of you then fine, pay it. If there is a way of avoiding paying more than the law says you owe, then fine then use it to avoid paying more than they demand. If you don't think they've demanded enough from you, then fine again. Write a cheque and send it to the treasury, they have an account for gullible idiots voluntary payments. Sorry if I wandered off the point you were making but rum................................................. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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