inky pete Posted August 1, 2013 Report Share Posted August 1, 2013 So WBC have responded to a 5000 signature petition calling for the reintroduction of 2 hours free parking in Lymm and Stockton Heath by abolishing free parking there altogether! This is despite the facts that:- WBC owned car parks elsewhere in the borough are free at all times These car parks previously ran at a significant financial surplus under the 2 hours free arrangements WBC have already admitted that reducing the free period from 2 to 1 hours has increased congestion due to on street parking WBC have further admitted that the change from 2 to 1 hours free has resulted in revenues significantly below the levels they had predicted Anyone fancy chipping in to a fighting fund to enable the Parish councils to force WBC to hand over these bl00dy car parks and actually run them for the benefit of the communities they serve? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary Posted August 1, 2013 Report Share Posted August 1, 2013 Full story here http://www.warrington-worldwide.co.uk/articles/16320/1/Council-scraps-free-parking-in-the-south---but-could-they-now-be-breaking-the-law/Page1.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Davy51 Posted August 2, 2013 Report Share Posted August 2, 2013 I should imagine everybody is going to Widnes with all the High Street names & 4 supermarkets all close together & FREE parking. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wolfie Posted August 2, 2013 Report Share Posted August 2, 2013 I should imagine everybody is going to Widnes with all the High Street names & 4 supermarkets all close together & FREE parking. I go to Widnes quite a lot. Not only is there free parking in the town centre , but you can park wherever you want around the rest of the town. There aren't any traffic wardens and the council seem to just rely on common sense and not regulation. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
inky pete Posted August 2, 2013 Author Report Share Posted August 2, 2013 Unfortunately, for people in south Warrington it will become more of a problem shopping in Widnes once a toll gets slapped on the Runcorn bridge. For me, to be honest it tends to be the big Tesco at Irlam for the weekly shop and the Trafford Centre for clothes etc. But it would be nice to be able to pop into my own village for a loaf and a pint of milk without WBC sticking its grubby little hands even further into my pockets than they already are! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grey_man Posted August 2, 2013 Report Share Posted August 2, 2013 I'm just looking forward to the council's decision in a few year's time that what Stockton Heath's moribund retail outlets and cafes need are some council funded planters to attract people back. Either that or they're being democratic and working towards the whole of Warrington looking like Dallam. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Davy51 Posted August 2, 2013 Report Share Posted August 2, 2013 Apparently, councils nationwide are profiting to the tune £600 million pa from parking charges & fines. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wolfie Posted August 2, 2013 Report Share Posted August 2, 2013 I hate 'Pay and Display' car parks anyway.I preferred it when dogging wasn't so commercialised. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coffee Posted August 3, 2013 Report Share Posted August 3, 2013 Don't go into either anymore during the day and I am on the fence on this one, on one hand feel their should be a free period in all car parks but then it is 30 pence! By the time you gone to Widnes or Irlem or wherever in your car it cost you lots more in petrol then 30p. People of Stockton heath and Lymm are not exactly poor are they Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bazj Posted August 3, 2013 Report Share Posted August 3, 2013 People of Stockton heath and Lymm are not exactly poor are they they have council houses in Lymm and Stockton Heath you know..... and by the same thinking, I know of at least two millionaires who live or lived in Dallam and Bewsey Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coffee Posted August 3, 2013 Report Share Posted August 3, 2013 they have council houses in Lymm and Stockton Heath you know..... and by the same thinking, I know of at least two millionaires who live or lived in Dallam and Bewsey Yes very true but iin general you will find people in Stockton Heath and Lymm are far better off, take a walk down a street in Stockton Heath houses, cars and so on are usually far superior to these in Dallam, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grey_man Posted August 3, 2013 Report Share Posted August 3, 2013 It doesn't matter. 30p or 50p is irrelevant. It's about the convenience. The Portas Review highlighted how charging people to park is one of the most important factors in their choice of where to shop when they have free alternatives. The council have mismanaged this and have completely refused to listen to retailers and residents. They haven't even learned from their own experiences. There's a good reason why Tesco and Morrison's and the out of town retail parks don't charge people 30p to park. It's because they know it's deadly. The only people who either haven't worked this out or are too focussed on other things are councillors and council employees. They're bloody idiots. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coffee Posted August 4, 2013 Report Share Posted August 4, 2013 The only people who either haven't worked this out or are too focussed on other things are councillors and council employees. They're bloody idiots. That I agree with, reason I hate pay and display is that they are usually variable and your never sure how much money to put in, to little and you have to pay extra, to much you loose out, get held up you get a ticket However a set 30p charge is something, that would not put me off stopping off in Lymm, It might in Stockton Heath as I would be passing Morrison, Sainsbury and possibly Tescos to get home. Wonder how much it will cost to administrate the charge though? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grey_man Posted August 4, 2013 Report Share Posted August 4, 2013 They already make profits in those car parks, unlike the council's own car parks for employees which actually constitute a large part of the deficit. As you say, the problem is not the money, it's the faff including the fact that pay and display machines rarely give change and don't give people the flexibility to take a little more time to do a bit more shopping, have a drink or something to eat thereby supporting local businesses. I partly take back what I said about them being bloody idiots. Based on Einstein's definition of insanity as doing the same things over and over again and expecting different results, they're also insane. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
inky pete Posted August 4, 2013 Author Report Share Posted August 4, 2013 It's not a flat 30p charge. It's 30p for the first hour, 50p for the second, and continues to go up from there. Meantime, every single WBC owned car park north of the ship canal is free 24x7 - and residents on street parking schemes in the north of the borough cost far more to run every year than they bring in. It's blatant plundering of two areas of the borough (which already contribute far more than their fair share into WBC's coffers) to give others a free ride. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
P J Posted August 4, 2013 Report Share Posted August 4, 2013 It's not a flat 30p charge. It's 30p for the first hour, 50p for the second, and continues to go up from there. Meantime, every single WBC owned car park north of the ship canal is free 24x7 - and residents on street parking schemes in the north of the borough cost far more to run every year than they bring in. It's blatant plundering of two areas of the borough (which already contribute far more than their fair share into WBC's coffers) to give others a free ride. Your facts are wrong. Warrington Market Car Park is a pound for the first hour. The Town Hall Car Park is £1 for the first hour New Town House Car Park is 80 p for the first hour. 30p per hour seems like quite a decent price compared to these north of the canal car parks. If you just want bread and milk from your local centre you can surely walk. As others seem to be using Dallam as some kind of example they will be aware that there is only one shop in Dallam so unless the Co Op have it they have to travel to get their shopping. A bus trip to town costs far more than 30p. I wonder if the people of Dallam are happy to be subsidising the Lymm and Stockton Heath residents cheap parking??? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grey_man Posted August 4, 2013 Report Share Posted August 4, 2013 Well obviously the council's car parking charges in the town centre are doing wonders for the shops there aren't they? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
inky pete Posted August 4, 2013 Author Report Share Posted August 4, 2013 Your facts are wrong. Warrington Market Car Park is a pound for the first hour. The Town Hall Car Park is £1 for the first hour New Town House Car Park is 80 p for the first hour. Those are all town centre car parks, are manned, have security of one form or another, and are operatred by private companies. There is also significant free parking in and near the town centre available at the retail parks and supermarkets for those who decline to be charged a fee for the privilege of being a customer. There are NO WBC owned and operated car parks in local centres anywhere in the borough other than in Lymm and Stockton Heath which charge any fee at all for parking. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coffee Posted August 4, 2013 Report Share Posted August 4, 2013 and residents on street parking schemes in the north of the borough cost far more to run every year than they bring in. It's blatant plundering of two areas of the borough (which already contribute far more than their fair share into WBC's coffers) to give others a free ride. Those are all town centre car parks, are manned, have security of one form or another, and are operatred by private companies. There is also significant free parking in and near the town centre available at the retail parks and supermarkets for those who decline to be charged a fee for the privilege of being a customer. There are NO WBC owned and operated car parks in local centres anywhere in the borough other than in Lymm and Stockton Heath which charge any fee at all for parking. If there are no WBC owned car parks in the north of the town you can not compare the two areas can you, I am confused by your point? Although I think their is by the market, cost more then 30P an hour though. The nearest free parking to town I know off is in Sainsburys, you can equally walk from the Morrison store into Stockton Heath. How does the South of the area contribute more then the North? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
P J Posted August 5, 2013 Report Share Posted August 5, 2013 Those are all town centre car parks, are manned, have security of one form or another, and are operatred by private companies. There is also significant free parking in and near the town centre available at the retail parks and supermarkets for those who decline to be charged a fee for the privilege of being a customer. There are NO WBC owned and operated car parks in local centres anywhere in the borough other than in Lymm and Stockton Heath which charge any fee at all for parking. So, as I pointed out, your statement that ALL other council car parks in the borough being free was a completely fictitious claim. The ASDA supermarket car park in town centre is also pay and display, as is Time Square so quite where all this significant free parking is escapes me. Pay your 30p and stop moaning, in fact don't bother because if you are going to buy everything except the odd pint of milk from out of town the local businesses in your local centre,that you claim to care for , are hardly going to miss your custom. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grey_man Posted August 5, 2013 Report Share Posted August 5, 2013 And when the council have finished working their magic on Stockton Heath with the same parking policies that have been such a roaring success for retailers in the town centre? What then? I love the fact that as the centres of Warrington fall apart, you're cheering it on out of what? Inverted snobbery? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
P J Posted August 5, 2013 Report Share Posted August 5, 2013 I don't recall cheering on anything, i merely pointed out the fact that the op was factually incorrect. I would be in favour of free parking across the entire borough, not just South of the canal as it seems the op favours. If that makes me an inverted snob then I'm happy to wear that badge, what will your badge say? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dizzy Posted August 5, 2013 Report Share Posted August 5, 2013 I’m split re Stockton Heath’s carpark. Don’t go to Lymm a lot so can’t comment on that one. I can sort of see why the council's minds think a charge of 30p to cover the first two hours (rather than the current NEW rates of 1 hour for free or 50p for up to two hours) is a compromise. Traders have said that since it was reduced from 2 hours free to only 1 they have noticed a significant change as people are often rushing to get back to their cars within the 1 free hour rather than browsing other shops like they used to .... you only have to be a few minutes late and the blue coat parasites pounce and slap you with a whopping fine ! Anyone coming into the village from elsewhere for a bit of shopping, a bite to eat and a coffee probably wont mind paying 30p (or even 50p as it is now for the second hour) every now and again. I didn't mind paying 50p in Lymm when I went a few weeks back to see the boats at the transport show but that's because it was a one off as I rarely go there. What the council don't seem to be taking into consideration in Stockton Heath is that a lot of local people use the village shops, banks, post office etc especially the elderly who may struggle to carry their shopping home etc so they drive to their local village. I can see many of them (myself included) not shopping there as often now if we have to pay 30p every time. Also have the council considered.... 1. The doctors surgery ? That is next to the lower car park and there is no-where else to park. So everyone attending doctors appointments will now have to pay 30p and the surgery is always very busy. 2. Parents dropping off/picking up kids at the primary school ? They park there so they would have to pay the 30p charge twice a day (not sure if they are just lazy or live further away hence the need to use a car so maybe they should pay ha ha) 3. Anyone just wanting to nip into the banks will have to pay 30p. 4. Anyone wanting to post a parcel in the local post office will have to pay 30p. 5. Anyone attending their loved ones graves in the church yard will have to pay 30p. You get my drift so I'll stop now...... but while I've been typing those it's suddenly occurred to me that for anyone who has no choice but to park there and pay, however briefly, it could be a right little earner for the council One things for sure, if they do change it to 30p and remove the free parking all together I certainly WONT be paying to park there. (and before anyone points out that I can walk there I know I can but I do also go a lot in my car on my way to/from other places etc) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eagle Posted August 5, 2013 Report Share Posted August 5, 2013 I think the reference to walking is very relevant, if the residents are whinging about a parking fee then it suggests that they are lazy. I live on a small estate of 26 houses with a local store about 600 yards away. I walk for my newspaper every morning, the other people that use the shop for their paper drive to the shop. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grey_man Posted August 5, 2013 Report Share Posted August 5, 2013 I think lots of people do walk. Even if they don't the main issue remains that traders are suffering as a result of this attempt to extract more money from a car park that was in surplus anyway. If Councillor Dirir wants to cut the parking deficit, she should find ways that don't harm local businesses. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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