Forums Forums Local News New car parking charges - no more free parking

Birkenhead is dead now this blinkered council cant see past there noses. for every pound gained how much are shops going to lose in lost revenue .They then close down council loses out due to lost rates all for the sake of putting up parking charges.
rant over

They know how to help crucify businesses. There is one council in Lancashire, (for the life of me, I cannot remember which one) who stated this week, that they have reduced their parking fees to 10p. Results....brought far more shoppers who are spending longer in the town centre.
Makes sense but, in our case there's no sense where there's no feeling!

Does it also include the car park in Bromborough behind the British Legion I wonder? I didn't see it listed

My thought too. You can park for free if you're prepared to walk a little way, but it's not fair on the elderly and those with prams, etc.

Mold is 20p carparking, and it's always busy considering it's a small market town, Widnes is free and is buzzing, it has all the big supermarkets and the small shops, yes those things that are dieing out busy as well, Ellesmere Port is where we do our shopping, 50p 2hours and free after 3:00pm it is also buzzing except McDonalds have closed I suspect because of Cheshire Oaks going from big to massive, with a new M&S supermarket, Chester Greyhound is also good, Chester centre, they have killed the parking at Northgate, yes I do get about when I get chance.

Serious question; would £1 really stop people going somewhere they normally go?!

£1?!

I wonder if they will start charging at the car park outside the Wallasey town hall because as they said “I appreciate that people will see the cost of parking their car in some parts of the borough rise considerably as a result of the change, but we believe having standardised charges across Wirral is the right and fair way to go in the longer term.

Doubt very much they will charge at that one, due to it being used by all the council employees.
Perk of the job?


http://www.wirral.gov.uk/news/22-03-2013/new-car-parking-charges

I was wondering the same myself. Surely the cost of driving to places like Cheshire Oaks or the Trafford Centre is a lot more than a pound?

business rates are payable for empty properties above RV£2600
thats why councilors do not give a shit about shops or businesses, there perfect senario would be town center all empty so running costs would be minimal

Last time I was down Grange rd it was an unkempt craphole,taxes have been paid for the car and shops and even our houses, the land you park on is supposed to belong to the people, the councillors are not doing the job they got voted for, to help all and the area, that also means to help business get footfall into the shops and markets the more people who go to the shops the more money will be available to go around and in consequence more employment, the council is supposed to try and get variety in the shopping area not just clothes, they have failed in everything they touch, Wirral has nothing that's worth spending £1 an hour to look at,I'm talking shops here, if you want to waste a £1 great leave it to you , I will go elsewhere including the Oaks where parking is free and the area is clean, with top shopping and lots more footfall.

The Chamber of Commerce has not had a Town Centre Manager for the last five year, according to the article linked. No worries, "all will be well", so far as one of our councillors are concerned, looks like we have to wait for Wirral Waters though. Patience is a virtue!!

http://www.wirralnews.co.uk/wirral-...ent-of-beating-recession-80491-32798264/

"Quote":
“Shopping patterns are changing and it’s a sad fact of life that stores like HMV are suffering because of it.”

Cllr Pat Hackett, Wirral Council’s cabinet member for regeneration and planning strategy, said initiatives like Wirral Waters would boost Birkenhead.

He said: “There is no doubt that these are difficult economic times, but we are confident that Birkenhead will continue to benefit from the kind of support that the council and other agencies are putting in.

“Birkenhead has become a Town Team Partnership and has received £10,000 of Government funding through the Department of Communities and Local Government along with a range of other support measures offered by the Association of Town Centre Management "Unquote"

So far as I can see its' all just words , yet again. Still nobody asks what happened to the £10,000,000 the council had given to them for investement in Birkenhead, over ten years ago!!

These car parks are not only used by shoppers, they are also used by people who work during the day. That is one heck of a lot of extras for a week at work. Not only that but anyone who may wish to travel to Liverpool by bus,train, or ferry, will probably now drive across and park over there.
It hits everything and over the years that is why Birkenhead has been eroded. Little by little the little things have been changed and now, it's one big thing. Anyone who doesn't move out of their cosy corner in Wirral does not see what impact these differences have on the whole area of Wirral. People will find the next best option, no matter what. So if it's Cheshire Oaks as an option, you can't blame people for wanting to do their shopping there. It's the whole experience which counts!
If someone lives 6 miles out of Birkenhead, do they spend the money on petrol going into Birkenhead, or do they spend it going in an opposite direction,for 6 miles. The extra mileage would probably be covered by not paying parking fees.

Fair point there, Granny. My solution (but it may not be too popular with a lot of people) would be to reduce the cost of parking in town centres like Birkenhead and Liscard. At the same time, put a tax on car park spaces in out-of-town places such as Cheshire Oaks, the Trafford Centre and the Croft Retail Park. They suck the lifeblood out of towns, add to the congestion our roads and are only really suitable for those with cars.

So you would like to tax the private carparks that are already taxed by business taxes, we already pay taxes for our roads,it's time the council understood the money tree is near death, time for them act to save the area not tax others, everything we have now is double and triple taxed, time for the Councillors to retire and let others who may have some idea's help to get Wirral back from it's death throes, Wirral Waters is a dream, Peel's companies dream, it's a great idea but until we see any real building going on then it's a dream, the council are supposed to be our voted leaders put in to lead, haven't seen any leaders leading.