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CAR PARKING CHANGES AT BIRCHWOOD SHOPPING CENTRE


Geoff Settle

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Not sure if this has been on the discussion forum so apologies if it has.

 

Modus Properties, the owners of Birchwood Shopping Centre introduced a new car park management regime with Charges from 1st

October 2007.

 

For tenants of the Shopping Centre, including office tenants parking permits have been issued. There will be a dedicated area for occupants

of Spencer House.(red/pink area)

 

For customers, parking is limited to a maximum of three hours with no return to site within 1 hour. Parking will be free for this period.

Disabled parking spaces will be actively managed to ensure that only vehicles displaying valid blue disability badges use them. Parent and

child spaces will be managed more effectively.

 

For rail commuters using the car park, a section of the car park to the right side of ASDA on Dewhurst Road (Car Park 3 - Blue) will be made

available as a Pay & Display car park. The day rate will be ?1.

 

For an introductory period it might be that warning notices are placed on car windscreens. Civil penalties will be charged on inelligible parked cars. The Shopping Centre's security team will be logging cars as they arrive on site and monitoring their length of stay. The managers of the parking scheme, Town and City Parking will

administer the penalty enforcements.

 

Income generated from the parking regime will first of all pay for the introduction of the system and then contribute to the overheads

of the Shopping Centre so reducing the service charge of the tenants.

 

The scheme should be promoted in various locations around the Shopping Centre including Birchwood Station.

 

[ 17.10.2007, 22:49: Message edited by: Geoff Settle ]

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The only warning that us regular rail commuters got was a photocopy of a letter sent to the Staton Master from Modus Properties. It was rabbiting on about trying to phone him about the proposals but got no reply. It was cellotaped to the Birchwood Kiosk window towards the back end of September. Mosy people missed it becuase they thought that it was a comment from a rail user. You had to read it carefully to understand what it was on about.

 

Two weeks on and we now have colour co-ordinated car parking areas. As a rail commuter I'm in the blue zone a good five minute walk from the station, when it rains we are going to get soaked.

 

Yesterday one of the bus drivers was complaining that the cars now park on the service road and they were causing a hazzed. The bus driver only

just avoided crashing into one he turned off the main road into the station forecourt.

 

Mind you in order to avoid the long walk to the blue zone people are parking on the grass

verge, pavement, bike shed - I kid you not - anywhere so as to avoid civil penalties of 50 or 60 quid.

 

Mind you the Blue Zone is always full so that's at least 100 pounds a day.

 

[ 17.10.2007, 22:48: Message edited by: Geoff Settle ]

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Geoff... with the signature you have "always look on the green side of life" I would have thought you would have relished a good walk and left the car at home!

 

a ?1.00 a day (possibly rising to ?3.00 a day... allegedly) is not a great deal of money. when I had my office in the town centre, we had 4 people coming into the office with cars and yet only one car park space was allocated to us. The other 3 had to park across the road on Cockhedge which could cost up to ?10.00 a day. Sometimes more if the driver was in and out to sites all day.

 

I have the unfortunate job of working for numerous customers during the day (from WBC to umpteen schools in and around Salford) I use my own car and rack up about 1000 miles a week on average and in a car that does 16-20 miles to a gallon that aint a lot.

 

now if they were charging ?20.00 a day I would have a bit more sympathy.

 

As for those parking in service roads etc. the powers that be will not stand for that and will no doubt get them towed away as an obstruction if it becomes an issue, plus I wouldn't park my car there because if a bus driver sees a way of bumping a parked car (that shouldn't be there in the first place) and can get away with it... he will do; common practice in Prague I hear!

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I work in Spencer House, the office block next to Birchwood Train station, and I am in complete agreement with Birchwood centre management on this issue. As a worker there, spending cash, adding to the areas economy, I feel I should be able to park near to where I work. Previously, without starting before about 8.30, I could not do this, why?, because of people who use the train parking and leaving their cars in these spaces. Done Brothers also have a call centre on this site, and with all the other businesses on this site, there are a lot of workers who need spaces.

?1 a day is a small price to pay, and if you don't like it, go to Central station, parking opposite, I believe is ?2.50 per day and its ?5 per day at Bank Quay Station.

Yes I agree with the need to use public transport, but I also believe local workers have more rights to the spaces than those who work further afield.

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Originally posted by Adrian:

Why when it was free to all previously does it now need a charge?

Because the company that has just spent multi-millions buying the place wants to start getting a return on their investnebt I guess.

 

still cheaper than driving to Manchester and a lot easier than walking there too!

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I have been told that there is a huge NHS office block there that feeds the red tape machine of the NHS, there is another at the junction of the motorway and another at Greenalls. If we got rid of all these office workers I am sure that there would be room to park and the NHS would be better off.

How good is that two +?s in one.

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I think ?1 a day is expensive for a car park that never fills and has always been free.

 

these crappy little charges everywhere you look add up you know, thats whats crippling the working class these days.

 

?1 a day, = ?5 a week = ?260 a year. (rising to ?780 aledgedly)

 

add that to rediculous increases for a crappy rail service, these people have my deepest sympathy.

I work in Spencer House, the office block next to Birchwood Train station, and I am in complete agreement with Birchwood centre management on this issue. As a worker there, spending cash, adding to the areas economy, I feel I should be able to park near to where I work.
in that case you of all have the option to take public transport RIGHT TO your works rather than selfishly ruing the environment and demanding your parking space.

 

and your not adding one jot to the local economy, you lining the pockets of the multi nationals such as ASDA, MODUS etc, the local contingent in birchwood got kicked out many years ago and replaced where the QVC, ARGOS etc now is.

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Car park that never fills, well why could you never get a space on that car park if you arrived after 9am most work days.I know because I had to do that on occasions. Thats a fact, and why, because of the commuters. There are still some empty business premises on this site, and these allocated parking spaces will then become full.

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Woody,

Years ago, I worked at Ford's at Hailwood, and used to cycle there from Wright's Green. In ALL weathers.

 

So unless someone is disabled, I have difficulty supporting any argument on this.

 

By the way, I am playing Devil's Advocate, as it doesn't affect me one way or the other.

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I used to work on risley science park in my late teens, that was a bus to town, a train from central to birchwood and a hike the rest of the way.

if there was a station like that neer my works I would be using it.

 

 

woody birchwood carpark has christ knows how many spaces, if you cannot find one at 9am before the shoppers arrive you muust arrive by some BIG car!!

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Originally posted by Woody:

Car park that never fills, well why could you never get a space on that car park if you arrived after 9am most work days.I know because I had to do that on occasions. Thats a fact, and why, because of the commuters.

I used to work at Birchwood centre, and this statement is utter nonsense.
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  • 3 weeks later...

It's interesting what's happening to the way people are now parking. It's totally random and dangerous!!

 

On Sunday the blue section (for rail travellers) had one car, the red section for permit holders had a few cars (despite the notice saying the restrictions are not in force at the weekend).

 

Today I passed through on the no 28 bus and the driver only just manovered passed illegally parked cars around the station car park. :o

 

How our driver missed raking off the black cars wing mirror I don't know?

 

6 were half on half off the pavement

4 were in the bike shed

2 were on the white hashes in the station car park

3 were on the grass verge of the car park (perhaps not illegal)

1 was on the grass verge by the station wall between two trees.

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I've just got two prompt replies. The first from John whose is based at Risely police station.

 

Hi Geoff

 

The parking around Birchwood station is being looked at by PCSO Hill he is the local officer for Birchwood, he will be taking positive action if vehicles are parked causing an obstruction or parked unlawfully

 

John.

and from Lesley McAllister

Principal Travel Planner

Warrington Borough Council writes

 

At the moment Geoff there are no parking restrictions (yellow lines), so its a police issue of obstruction, and the bus companies have alerted them of the difficulties they are having.

 

I have forwarded your concerns to the traffic manager, and if the situation requires further intervention then the traffic management section will look at yellow-lining the road. The station car park and road are local authority owned and maintained, but the verges and buildings are owned by network rail.

Hopefully actions will be taken to improve the safety of the area before an accident occurs.
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Originally posted by Geoff Settle:

Your right obs and what's more the guys and girls who work the ticket office now have nowhere to park unless they are on the early shift at around 6 :o am.

Do they have any more rights than anyone else to park there?

 

Seems a lack of joined-up thinking re. cars/work/parking.

Didn't WBC refuse Carphone Wharehouse planning consent to increase their car park size?

 

Seems to me that things like this should be taken into consideration when building these business parks.

You cannot "FORCE" people to use public transport unless it runs at a time and place to suit the customer.

It's all about economy of movement and maximising time.

Reporting these things to the authorities doesn't solve the overall problem. Perhaps the parking should have been looked at "BEFORE" the cars parked.

Has anyone done a survey or put out a questionnaire?

I doubt it. Just a bunch of people who are "slightly" inconvenienced having a whinge. :roll:

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Originally posted by Eagle:

A PCSO taking positive action? And what the heck is a Principal Travel Planner?

It turns out that he used to drive the buses before he took to his police bike.

 

I met up with him this morning to discuss the issues. While we were there it was very clear to see the problems that cars :o were causing the buses.

 

I've taken lots of photos so if I can remember the site that I used to post photos on I will let you all see how bad the situation is.

 

Oh and as for the staff they have no rights to parking and have to do as we all do. I've seen at least one get off the train from Warrington in the morning, not sure where he lives though, So equality all round. :wink:

 

[ 13.11.2007, 13:20: Message edited by: Geoff Settle ]

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