Cheshire east backwards parking policy ?

[ma-ogy]

I like most people who use the Civic hall c/park would be against any parking charges being implemented , but the thing to do is lobby our councillors and not call them names ,lets get them on our side.
At this moment in time I have not heard or seen any official evidence that this is going to happen ?
We have a Cllr who post on this forum on a regular basis , he keeps us well informed on what is going on in Poynton and we should thank him for that ,and Im sure if and when these alleged charges are to be Implemented one would hope he will let us know in good time.

[pringle]

I agree with nedsram, let's have debate and it's fine not to agree with some one, but let's leave the name calling to the playground.

Paying to park at the civic centre, why are you moaning, when Waitrose is open there won't be any parking spots left to pay for.
Give it a couple of years and you will all be asking for a multi story like the one in Cheadle Hulme or at Stepping Hill.

whilst I agree that name calling is very immature and childish , the councillor's have only got there self to blame for the criticism that they are receiveing.
there is only one who will acutally responed to phone calls that you make. sure we know who that is . how accommodating will they all be. come election time

[zzippy]

Have you been reading the Macc express this week?

Supposedly it took councillors over 4 months to decide not to drop parking charges on Saturdays in the run up to christmas, as it will cost too much in lost revenue , screw the traders then seems to be the message and nothing to do with lets stop people (office workers?) parking all day even saturdays . Look on the bright side though all those parkies have got to keep pounding the streets and keep the money rolling in, it keeps the dole queue number down a bit in these straightened times i suppose

I see one trader in the name of trying to generate some publicity/business has taken to "renting" spaces


Maybe when waitrose arrives they will pay a lump sum of a few grand a year to bribe/pacify the council to keep free parking, so we can slip in the library/doctors/grab a coffe etc for a few mins without being hit with £30 or £60 or whatever it a 5 min overstay is.

Just out of interest will you stop giving blood if you have to pay/get a ticket each time you donate ?

If we get harmonised

[ma-ogy]

As I said earlier I havent seen any official statement or notification that charges will be Implemented on the Civic Hall c/park , if theres has been any please lets us know where we can view these proposals, or are we just screaming before we are hurt!

But if they do Implement the charges we will have no blood to give ,they will have squeezed the last drop out of us ,

[Maximus]

I think ma-ogy has presented the voice of reason to this topic. How can we expect the Council to engage with us on this forum when all they can see is pitch forks and flaming torches?

All that has been achieved so far is a groundless forecast of skulduggery and an implied indictment of the Council for something they haven't even done! Easy to accomplish from beneath the veil of anonymity. Have those who are so strongly opposed contacted the Council for official information, or is the local newspaper to be the sole source of opinion?

I don't think it is possible to hold a constructive debate until all the facts are known. Since no official proposal for car parking charges in Poynton has yet been tabled (I stand to be corrected if, in the interim, it has), this berating of the Council is unfair.

The subject article in Cheshire East News gives only a vague indication of what the parking charges in the Congleton Borough Council area actually are and when and where they will apply, although it does state that free parking in this area will remain during the Christmas period. I expect full details can be obtained given an appropriate enquiry.

I've read back through some of the posts on the old 'Yuku' forum which contain further discussion on this issue. It would appear that, contrary to some of the charges levelled on this thread, several Poynton Councillors were actually opposed to the initial propositions regarding car park 'harmonisation' Councillors unhappy about current decision for parking charges, 1 Aug 09. In addition, on 14 Aug 09 Cllr Murray took the time to provide a detailed explanation of the Waitrose development and the associated questions of Civic Hall car parking, Poynton's Future, 7 Aug 09.

These threads may shed further light on the issues raised in this topic and, hopefully, encourage people to not assume that everything is the fault of the Parish Council.

Perhaps the originators suspicions will be proved justified, perhaps they will not. But until a proposal affecting Poynton is actually made, and I will reserve my own opinion until then, I see little value in further speculation.

The link below will invite you download the Autumn edition of Cheshire East News which contains, at page 5, the article about the CBC initiative.

http://www.cheshireeast.gov.uk/pdf/CE%2 ... tumn09.pdf

M.

[vmeldrew]

As I understand Cheshire East policy it is to harmonise car parking charges across the Borough. Ineveitably, that will not mean harmonising prices downwards (as Macclesfield retailers know to their cost) or generating free parking. When did it ever? (I'm taking 100:1 odds). As with the Waitrose planning catastrophy, the town council is probably powerless to prevent it.

Closely related to this, has everyone forgotten the Park Lane Plan? This involves removal of a dozen or so free for 40 minute parking places outside the Post Office and the Co-op. Waitrose only generates 29 extra spaces and a lot of extra demand for staff, supplier, visitor and customer parking. The Waitrose scheme will place extra pressure to impose short-term parking on the Civic car park in order to create spaces for customers and store footfall. The supermarket also creates pressure to sort out the round the clock problems caused by parking between the terraced houses, higher up Park Lane. Where will all these longer term parkers go? Poynton is a town with a population scattered far and wide enough for the car to be an essential mode of transport for many in order to visit the shops.

But crucially, the Park Lane shared space scheme will cause years of disruption while they first dig up Park Lane and then the Fountain area. This is just the sort of traffic chaos that caused the independent retailers on Park Lane to howl with anguish and pain the last time there was utilities work at the junction. Without an adequate plan, Waitrose and the shared scheme could see off the rest of the independent retail sector on Park Lane. Now, who would benefit from that?

The Council wants to take the space behind the shops for additional car parking. So. Are the retailers expected to give their land to the council so that it can derive an income from car parking charges which in turn means that people have less to spend in their shops?

Tell you what. Let's not kick up a stink. Let's wait and see what happens...

Oh by the way, last week I went over the top in criticising Cheshire East Councillors. I was out of order (in true meldrew style) and I am happy to apologise for my excesses. I voted them in and I get disappointed when I don't hear them putting up much of a fight against the march of bureaucracy which is impacting on everyone's quality of life.

[Adora]

I don't know of anywhere else but Poynton that has free parking now.

Can't say having to pay for parking stops me from going to the shops I want to go to.

Must agree with Zzippy re: toddler groups and the like, however. I think so much time for free and then you have to pay is a better idea.

I feel fairly confident that Poynton shop keepers won't miss any trade if the goods and services they are offering are what people want.

[rafiki6]

It's obvious to most reasonable people that the parking problem can and will only get worse in the area of the civic hall. I have actually been in an underground car park 4 levels below ground level and I was told there was another parking level below that. It wasn't in this country of course, BUT it does pose the question; why wasn't underground parking provided, say, for at least the staff of Waitrose below their premises? If there were spaces in excess then they could offer them to the so-called office workers employers on an annual rent. I appreciate underground parking facilities are more expensive to provide than ground level places but if and when the situation becomes unacceptable then it surely must be better than cheap overhead facilities.
My message to Waitrose is,"Get your plans changed ASAP - you'll be better thought of than donating to the dubiously effective 'shared space' scheme for Park Lane."
For those who don't know or remember, I recall that the 'old folks' place on the civic hall car park was built there because there was so much space it was called a white elephant.

[nedsram]

I don't know of anywhere else but Poynton that has free parking now.

Prestbury does.

[Adora]

OK, I'll re-phrase - "I don't know of any towns or large shopping areas the size of Poynton that offers free parking!"