Introduction of charges for parking on the street

The Council should charge lots and lots of money to people who wish to park their cars in the city centre. They can afford cars and they're too lazy to walk or catch the bus so they should pay out properly! Nic of you bone idle Nottingham b======s.

Lee Buch'pom
Leicester

You've seen nowt yet,by 2007 the motorist/worker will pay £450 to park at work,by then the motorist will pay a huge toll fee to enter nottm city centre by car. if this city wants to remain in the top three uk shopping centres I suggest that the present idiots running this city should dump this greed mentality or resign their position with the council,are they aware of the local elections?

Mickety
Nottingham

If you don't like the parking charges then vote with your wheels - go to Meadowhall instead. Only 40 mins up the M1, free parking, undercover, huge range of shops, no big issue/beggars/clipboarders. I love it.

Jas Singh
Notts

I disagree entirely with charging for on street parking. As it has been up until now, it is there on a first come first parked basis. Drivers should retain the choice of either paying for purpose built carparks, or the less secure on-street alternative. Being denied that choice will certainly deter me from attempting to go 'down town' even for specialized items now. It will certainly be an incentive to take a closer look at Mansfield. I've not been to Meadowhall yet, perhaps it is time I gave it a try ...

Graham Shepherd
Nottingham

The City Council is "baffled" about the disappearance of cars since the introduction of the pay & display scheme. Well nobody else is, I suggest they check with Meadowhall / McArthur Glen / Fosse Park to see if they've had an upsurge in trade. If P&D doesn't kill the City off then the proposed future workplace parking levy will.

John Adair
Notts

in reply...

I'm not sure where John Adair picked up the expression that the City Council are "baffled" by the freeing up of on street parking spaces in the city centre. It is certainly not a phrase I have ever used, and is far from the reality.
The whole point of introducing on street charging and enforcement was to prevent the use of such spaces by all day commuters, which the majority of spaces were used for previously. This is clearly being done, and spaces being freed up for shoppers and other short stay users.
The pattern in other cities that have introduced on-street charging is that shoppers become aware of the extra spaces after a while and the use of spaces settles down after time, which is what is happening in Nottingham.
There is no evidence that shoppers are going elsewhere, only that commuters have been forced out of the spaces.
I repeat - the City Centre Retailers are fully in support of the new system, which will benefit Nottingham's retail presence, which is already strong.
The City Council is fully committed to making Nottingham's retail sector strong and vibrant, and Nottingham has again featured in separate surveys only recently as being in the top three retail destinations in the UK.

Councillor Brian Parbutt (Deputy Leader)
Nottingham

More on parking...

From the Annual Local Authority Maintenance Survey:

- 79% of Local Authorities believe that underfunding is causing a threat to safety.

- In ENGLAND £750,000 per WEEK is paid out in INJURY claims resulting from poor mainteance (and how many people know about/bother to claim for injuries from local authorities, and what about suspension and windscreen damage, accident damage caused by poor maintenance, etc, etc).

From the Institution of Civil Engineers 2001 Local Transport Survey:

- Only 8% of local authorities support the idea of work place charging schemes and even less - 6% - support the road pricing proposals.

- 60% believe that their economic competitiveness is undermined by their current transport infrastructure.

- Unless there is a reversal in the massive under investment in local transport, road maintenance and highway safety measures, some of which offer a cash rate of return in excess of 30% per annum, not only will hundreds more innocent lives be lost but the country as a whole could face an economic crisis.

But then again, we only pay £37 billion in motoring taxes, of which a whopping £5 billion goes on "roads" spending (speed bumps, 24 hour bus lanes - where are the 24 hour buses? - resurfacing bus lanes and bus stops red - hmmmmmmmmm,why not blue, I wonder;-) - 30/40/50 mph resigning on roads that were safe for 60mph for Ford Anglias and Morris Minors with no tyres or brakes or suspension to speak of, etc, etc)

bogush
nottingham

We live in Lowdham, my husband works on Derby Road, and i work on Lenton Ind estate.

For me to get to my office, i have a 15 min walk to my bus stop, a 55 min bus journey to the Market Square, a walk across town to get a connecting bus to take me to Lenton Ind Estate, where i have to take my chances walking through a frequently flooded underpass to get to my office.
If i use the car, it costs less in petrol than the 2 lots of weekly bus fares it would take for my husband and me to get into work, and if i arrive at work before 8:30 i can park in my company car park.

Until they improve the bus servie and cost of it from my village, and provide better bus services out of town to my office, and sort out the underpass, i will not stop using my car. I will have to continue to pay for petrol, tax and insurance fees whether i use the bus daily for work or not - i have family in Yorkshire, Derbyshire and Lincs that i travel to visit (try using public transport then), so will not be without my car. BEcause i choose to live in a semi rural area, i am penalised along with the people who di have a choice of public transport or a car.

I lived near Long Eaton for a while, and worked in the city centre , and used the train then. Now i have no use of this luxury, and have to take my chances in the car, battling through a city centre to get to my office outside of the centre, and if the rumours have any basis in truth, may have to pay to get through the city to my office - can i hep living the opposite side to where i work? Do i have to consider moving to make the council happy?

EW
Notts

The new parking meters being "the world's first solar powered meters" - I think not! I have seen these in operation in plenty of locations around Britain in the last few years - such as in isolated car parks in the Peak District. The design may have been the first in the world, but Nottingham is not the first place to install them!

Andrew Phillips

I know from first hand experience how frequently short term parking on the street is abused by all-day commuters. I used to do it myself, and over a three year period only received 2 parking tickets.

Motorists will do what they are allowed to get away with, and these new meters will discourage all-day use only if the traffic wardens get tough.

There are often times when it is useful to have access to short-term street parking, and Park & Ride is not always the most suitable option. The other alternative would be to shop outside the City, but why should the City busnesses lose trade?

I wish the scheme well, and hope that it succeeds in cutting abuse by commutors, and encouraging passing trade for our City centre shops and businesses.

zadok
Nottingham

This is a great idea, why it has taken Nottingham City Council so long is beyond me, I personally would have preferred no inner city parking at all. It would be far better if there was no petrol/diesel driven vehicles permitted in the inner city bus's included.

The park and ride scheme is very good and should be extended. People and motor driven vehicle just do not mix and people should always have the priority. The use of the money from this on road parking I have no quarrel with at all sounds fine to me.

The comments made about people staying out of the city because of it, I for one would be more inclined to go into the city. As for large business moving out, I remember similar comments about anti smoking ads in the city years ago and John Player moving out. If Boots rely on road and street parking for their employees, then frankly I do not think much of Boots as a company. How thoroughly irresponsible to expect every one else to be inconvenienced because Boots cannot sort out their and their employees parking problems and to offer a vailed threat of moving out on Nottingham because of it sounds more like a spoilt ch! il! d.

The comments about being able to visit customers at their premises still is not a problem why not park the car in a park and ride and catch the bus? It's all down to culture of the car. Yes I do have a car, but mainly cycle to work and walk else where when ever I can.

John Foster
Arnold

and in reply...

If the council / drivers want people to use the lanes, they should have been made safer & more convenient. If I were to cycle alng the route from my home (Woodside Road) to the City centre, I would cover a further distance & cross more junctions than if I drove! I'm all for DECENT cycle routes - they'd be good for cyclests AND drivers. For information, my job??? A trainee driving instructor, with a part-time 'desk' job in the City centre. I'd like to not use the car for the City, but cycling's to dangerous, and the bus to expensive (it's no good putting the price of fuel up to get us out of our cars if the bus companies have to cover the increases too, but thats another issue). Regards,

Simon H
Nottingham

The reason why the City Council is introducing charges for parking on street from 2nd April is to free up spaces for shoppers and other short stay visitors that are currently being "blocked" by all day commuters.

All of the 1500 spaces in the City Centre are legally for stays of no more than two hours, but our surveys have shown that most are taken up by commuters parking all day.

Charging changes the legal status of the spaces and gives the Council rather than the police the right to enforce parking restrictions in the spaces, and the income will give us the money to do to so.

Any surplus revenue must, by law, be spent on off-street car parks, street lighting and pavements, or other transport infrastructure.

Nottingham is one of the last cities to charge for parking on street, and Derby, Leicester, Sheffield and other neighbouring cities already do so. The move has been strongly supported by many City Centre Retailers, who want the commuters out of City Centre parking spaces and shoppers in them.

Cllr Brian Parbutt, Nottingham City Council
Nottingham

and in reply...

Cllr Parbutt says introducing on street parking is to free up spaces for short stay shoppers, because people are parking for longer than the 2 hours permitted,so where are the traffic wardens.

On street parking charges are to be introduced because it is another easy way to rip off the public,like putting more tax on petrol to keep cars off the road, but every year more and more cars are on the road so putting up the price dont work but it earns the goverment plenty of easy cash, the same story with fags (i dont smoke) i think that Nottingham is in danger of shooting its self in the foot.

Keep the cars out of the city, and you will keep out a lot of people who will go to out of town retail parks,you cant force people onto a bus or a train or a tram that is not going to the area in town that you need to go to. just one last thought,the new idea for parking charges for the workplace,i hope someone is on hand to record the faces of the council if Boots or another large!

Employer decides to move out of Nottingham,it could happen, remember Maggie she thought the poll tax was a good idea look what happend to her.

Wide awake
Nottingham

another comment...

I am in favour of the car parking levy, but feel there is room for improvement:

I am not a car owner, and have to travel into the city and out of the city by bus every day to get to work.
There are many people who refuse to do this, as they have a car and it takes half the time in a car.

However, with regards city centre parking - I think it's a good idea for those people who are office-based. As long as there is a good local bus system plus extra park & ride facilities.

But what about those people who are in and out of the office all day long at customer meetings / site visits etc. It is essential for them to have a car and be able to leave quickly. Having to leave the office 20 minutes early so that they can get a bus to the park and ride, and then setting off will cause a lot of trouble and effectively shorten the number of hours people have to carry out work.

Damson

Boots is not in the city centre. It will not benefit from most of the improvements to public transport. Most staff do not have any option but to use a car and therefore we feel this proposal is most unfair.

J

another comment...

Let's not charge for car parking but simply ban cars from the centre except for those who live there.

We need to protect ourplanet, our health and our children form the pollution being caused by the lazy and unneccsary use of cars.

Everyone needs to drive at some point but not all the time.

If drivers won't get out of their cars of their own choice they have to be forced. there is no need for the vast majority of drivers to commute by themselves in a gas guzzler.

Robert Steadman
Beeston

and in reply...

"We need to protect ourplanet, our health and our children from the pollution being caused by the lazy and unneccessary use of cars." says Robert Steadman.

Could he tell this to the powers that be.

The gaps in the ring road between Hucknall Road and Nottingham Road have been closed off, so residents have to drive up to a mile in the wrong direction if they live on the westbound carriageway, but want to head east.

Then rat run up to a mile back through residential streets.

Only to find that they are putting in a new bus lane on Hucknall road, which will halve capacity, and so double congestion, so blocking their way if they try to take the direct route back to the ring road.

Ah well, yet another detour taking the pretty route through yet more residential streets.

bogush
nottingham

and in reply...

I'm all for encouraging the use of public transport and if this has to come from parking fees, fair enough. Trouble is, while the fees are introduced, the quality of public transport is conspicuously in decline. If the city buses actually turned up (preferably near the time on the time-table) every time it would be a plus. I generally call to find out where the bus I tried to catch got to. Its usually "missing", a euphamism for "we haven't got enough staff to cover for absences". Anyone else feel they're being punished for actually needing/wanting to go somewhere?

Fred W
Wollaton Nottm

With reference to Hepatitis payout story
in 1987 i had to have a bone marrow transplant which resulted in me having hepatitis c. i am so pleased for jane Lindley for her outcome i am not entitled to claim for anything because they have told me i got it before it was known about but i feel that i have had no apoligies for this happening to me and i am wondering how other people are feeling. i was tested when i was pregnant with my daughter in 1994 and was not told what i was being tested for, 9 months after she was born i recieved a letter from the QMC telling me that i had hep c i do not want this to happen to anyone else.

Helen Craven
Notts

Census:
Is anyone else out there as disappointed as me with the whole census debacle? Whoever appointed these team leaders obviously works for the council as getting a hold of them and communicating with them is obviously a skill not necessary. And, is it a wise thing to be sending out a single female to do arguably, the roughest part of Beirut, sorry Broxtowe? I'm afraid the money you earn to do this only amopunts up to about 75pence a house (with abuse thrown in for free !) Next time, send the forms out on time and make sure people are happy to do the area they know well.

Evelyn Phillips
Nottingham

The Notts Chief Constable has announced that he is going tough on crime in the next year - he could start by redeploying the speed trap operatives who seem to spend all day, 2 to a van, twiddling their thumbs. If they were redeployed , the crackdown on theft & violent crime could start immediately.

John Adair
Notts

Foot-and-Mouth comments

I think that you should leave the countryside alone because people don't want big houses in the countryside.

Alex Ibbs
Stoke-On-Trent

I have read with some interest the debate being carried on this section of Shout Open Forum.

The facts are that the meat eating population are happy to pass on the responsibility for the raring and killing of lambs, cattle and pigs to the farmer who in turn is very happy to take on the roll for a sum of money.

This is what is termed as business, the farmer is for filling a need (sad as that might be) to provided meat.
The farmers now run to the government pleading for help and assistance, who is paying for, the digging of large pits laying them with timber transporting the previously killed animals to the pit and setting fire to it all. Not many guesses are needed here.

If this were any other industry if for whatever reason the business struggled how much help do you think it would get?

I feel sure if the company I work for were in a mess through whatever reason the government of the day would not be in the slightest interested.

On a slightly different slant to all of this, may I ask one question of each and every one that reads this?
If you really need to eat meat could you?
Look young lambs in the eye and kill them?
Rip of the skin of there still warm body?
Saw and chop your way through its body to make the pieces more manageable?

The whole process is barbaric

If a human being does this to another human being what is it called?

John Foster
Arnold England

I'm astounded that people are blaming farmers for this tradgedy! I am not a farmer but I appreciate that they have a very difficult job to do with very little thanks from the public at large. Not only do they produce food for the nation, they also care for our countryside in a dynamic way, maintaining it as a resource for us all to enjoy. I believe that now is the time that we should show our appreciation for these unsung heros - can't a charity be set up where donations can be made, how about diverting lottery money into farming and rural tourism until the crisis is over?

I am not a vegetarian and have no desire to become one - I would rather pay more for my meat knowing that it was raised in Britain to high British standards than imported cheaply from diseased foreign herds - let us not forget that is how the disease entered our country on this occasion. I wish everyone would stop finding fault with our agricultural community and start trying to find solutions to this mess. I was always taught that 'you shouldn't criticise farmers when your gobs full!' - maybe if we were all starving we'd value our farmers more!

Jerry Alderson
Nottingham

Vaccination is the only way to deal with the crisis. What is to stop a terrorist/mad foriegn dictator from re-introducing the disease again as soon as this outbreak is cleared up.Why kill millions of healthy animals, ruin thousands of farmers, destroy tourism etc. when we are so easily open to reinfection by any resourceful maniac that chooses to destroy our economy.

P Hughes
Stoke

I am completely sick of hereing how farmers do not rear their animals properly! I have been involved in farming all my life and I am now a dairy cow nutritionist, so I get to travel around many farms, not only in the U.K but overseas also.

The U.K farmers are still the best that I come across and are certainly the most passionate about their stock. In my opinion we as a country clamp down too severly via red tape on the farming community, whilst allowing imports from other countries to come in without anywhere near the same standards.

The consumers are quite happy to buy cheap foreign imports oblivious to how they are reared and yet critisize the U.K industry. This is totally unacceptable, from travelling around I can tell you that many diseases occur in other countries , but are conveniently covered up or over looked, whereas our press chooses to whip up an unrealistic view of U.K agriculture as the scurge of world farming. And think on this, if farmers are whingi! ng! unnecessarily about low prices and consumers are complaining about paying subsidies who do you think is making money out of this situation:-A prime beef carcass payes the farmer on average £350-400 after one years efficient farming. Most supermarkets would recieve between £1200-1400 for the meat from that same carcass.

Pete Davis
Ashbourne,Derbyshire

So now Foot and Mouth was around for longer than expected...and yet we're meant to believe that we have the highest standards of animal hygiene in the world - or are the farmers lying?

Also, I'm very intrigued, if the disease is really only being spread from animal to animal (as the farmers insist) after two weeks the increase in cases should have dropped off - is it endemic in the national herd or does this show the dishonesty of farmers who are now secretly trading disease ridden animals?

And what of the farmers who won't slaughter the herds to help restrict the spread? Putting their own greed above that of the nation. Quite despicable.

To be honest, I'm not surprised that farmers have been caught out again but I am amazed they are allowed to get more and more handouts from the tax payer to support their sloppy practises and I'm amazed they are allowed to destroy so many innocent animals when these creatures would recover from the illness. Foot and Mouth is no worse than a bad case of the flu - it is the money grabbing farmers that have turned this into a crisis.

About time everyone became vegetarian, me thinks!

Robert Steadman
Beeston

There was a delay in reporting the first case and the cessation of animal movements. On the web site of MAFF They show photo's of the first case of foot and mouth disease, the pictures were taken on the 20th Feb, animal movements were not banned until 3 days later, many sheep were moved about in those three days, a bit like bolting the stable door once the horse has gone. But people are not taking this disease seriously, people are still joy riding into the countryside at weekends, carrying the disease on their tyres past MY farm, putting my cattle at risk. Please leave the countryside alone until this disease shows signs of abating, we can't get dole unless we sell our assets, we can't sell our assets until 6 months after the disease has hit our properties, by then we've got nothing left.

Sue Goodwin
Ashbourne, Derbyshire.

Just to add my tenpennyworth. Today I saw "ramblers" out and about. Going where and how? Surely not on the closed footpaths but the doggy walkers are also out so where are they going? Theres nowt so queer as folk especially when they are not yet affected. Carry on like this and they will be the first to scream when there is no meat or milk.

Roger Tuck
Cropwell Butler

Why do we need to keep out of the country side?? The government guidelines on dealing with foot and mouth say 'incinerate' cattle , burning them in open fields means the temperature is no where near the temperature in an incinerator and hence the bacteria just gets airborn?? the government are causing this problem themselves.

Steve Heath
Notts

and in reply...

From what I understand this is the accepted means of destroying the virus that these unfortunate animals have contracted. The Virus can be passed on by touch and also sneezing, when the animal is destroyed there are only to ways of dealing with the infected carcass, one is burying which in the passed has proved unsuitable as the ground can become infected, the other is burning. The burning process is most unlikely to carry the virus in the air, as the temperatures in the process of burning are so high the only thing that could be distributed is ash. As for not going into the countryside i.e walking/rambling on the foot paths that cut though fields in infected area, surely this makes sense to minimise any possibility of infecting other areas, no one surely would be that selfish? As for the speed of the spread of the disease it shows how quickly in this age of travel how any infection can spread quickly with out being detected, until its too late. I assume there is no vaccination for this virus to prevent its spread? This brings to mind the illegal immigrants, who are infected with a variety of illness on arrival here, which we have no experience of here in the UK. Perhaps we are all sitting on a health time bomb and the timer its ticking.

John Foster
Arnold England

Please do not import any more substandard meat from abroard! Our Nations health is at risk from it again.

William Grice
Melton Mowbray/ Leicestershire

As the impending shortage of meat looms upon us, surely the answer isn't to rush out to the shops and supermarkets with the intent to bulk-buy. I strongly feel that panic buying should be stopped by introducing a rationing system.

Mary, Nottingham

It cannot seem possible that farm animals in this country are still being fed animal byproducts in their feedstuffs. No lessons learned from BSE then? Hopefully the meat eating public will be prepared to spend a little more money buying their meat to ensure that animals are reared in a more humane and more natural environment. Organic meat for me from now on, I would rather have some meat free meals and pay a bit extra!

Val
Radcliffe on Trent, Notts

With reference to: 'It's unfair' claims MS sufferer

I don't believe it's lawfully right to let someone suffer from this horrible and deadly disease, without offering the medication so many others have assess to to prevent the progress. The government needs to supply and make available the tools to sufficiently treat this illness. I pray for all those out there with this disease and mostly pray that Louise, along with all the others receive the necessary treatments. God Bless....

Mary
Location unknown

Following on from your report today re MS and Beta Interferon there is a meeting of NICE in Nottingham tommorrow (Wednesday 21st March) which is likely to be attended by a large number of demonstraters. Since this is closely related would it be possible for this to be covered? I think it is at the Forte Posthouse in central Nottingham
St James Street?

Nick
Location unknown

I thought we were going to have a great new concert venue, the first ever here to attract the big names. However I have heard on the grapevine that the sound quality is not brilliant, and whoever was the fool who decided on no adjacent parking. I've heard there is to be some (not yet started) but as usual too little, too late and sub standard! It looks brilliant from the outside however!

Annie
Newark, Notts

I was interested to see the comment about Popstars. When the management set up to recruit them said they were going to make these young people stars what did poor old cynical me think? So nothing to do with getting yourselves publicity/prestige/money then?!!! And by having the brilliant idea of letting us all see the process on TV they managed to buy themselves a number one hit too!! I'm sure the kids are all lovely people but who's doing what for whom?

Annie
Newark, Notts

Historic treasure vandalised - BBC news
When does vandalism change from vandalism to criminal damage?
This so-called vandalism is to cost £100, 000 to repair that is where it can be repaired. I wonder if this "vandalism case" will be treated with any less importance than a crime, which invokes a similar loss to someone, which is then called theft. If these so called vandals are caught, and managed to get to court I sincere hope they receive a very stiff sentence.
I wonder why the criminal in the UK is treated so lightly, why do they in the event of being caught and found guilty of this kind of crime are they not only punished for the crime, but also made to pay for the damage.
This should also apply to theft, fining the criminal and being made to pay some costs in not enough, the money or goods should be replaced at the criminal's expense.
What a great shame this piece of Nottingham's heritage is damaged in such a manor.
I wonder what age the "vandals" are? parental control fails no doubt again.

John Foster
Arnold England

John Foster is absolutely spot on there, although the defence lawyers creaming off the Legal Aid system are partly to blame. I don't know how they have the gall to stand up and represent these young thugs.

John Adair
Broxtowe

"Nottingham to launch Truancy Squad"
I wonder what this truancy squad will be able to achieve? Spending £20m on CCTV cameras and running a team to crack down on vandalism will at lest keep a few more people employed installing and maintaining the CCTV system and also the people to run the "Truancy Squad".
It would seem we have all lost the plot, the parents are mainly to blame because they either do not have the will and interest in their children, or are just totally incapable of bringing up their children to respect others and other people's property. Even if they wish to, they are prevented from giving their children a smack to remind them of a lesson. As for the Police, if they manage to catch one of these children that have caused damage or have stolen some thing, there appears to be pressure not to prosecute. If they do try to proceed with a prosecution the case seems to get dropped and put in the hands of the professional do gooders, commonly known as "Social Services" who in turn seem unable to make any real impact on the problem placed before them.
Lets go back to the old tried and tested means of keeping our young in control it's worked for hundreds of years. This so called new approach of the last 20 or 30 years just does not work!

John Foster
Nottingham

Am I the only person amazed that Broxtowe Council have allowed the closure of Lilac Grove for road works whilst road works continue on Queen's Road? Or is there a secret plan to turn Beeston Rylands into a prison at certain times of day?

It took my wife, a district nurse, 45 minutes to escape this morning, during which time she had to divert TWO EMERGENCY CALLS.

Not just inconvenient - maybe a case of life and death?!!

Robert Steadman
Beeston