Forums Forums Local News Political Participation or Mindless Vandalism?

Someone has disabled the parking meters at Royden Park by filling them with expanding foam!

I imagine these machines are now a write-off. That foam expands and goes hard sticking firmly to everything. The mechanism would probably be irreparable and would have to be replaced and probably costs a fortune too. The Wirral Globe dismisses this as 'Mindless Vandalism' but it can also be seen as the public taking back control from a bunch of politicians doing something the people they represent clearly strongly oppose. Perhaps the council should have taken the hint and removed the machines. However, they seem to have replaced them.

Whilst not advocating further damage I can't deny feeling a degree of schadenfreude at this protest, and I expect I am not the only one. Further attacks seem very likely. One could argue, too, that it is the public who pay for these machines, ultimately, and that surely gives them the moral right to do what they like with them.

It was inevitable that someone would do something to the machines - I'm just surprised it took them so long. New machines have now been installed. Who pays for that? We do, through our Council tax, I imagine. At least at this time of year the 'free before 8am and after 6.30 pm' is useful for cooler morning and evening walkies, though it'll be no use at all in the winter.

Do you think they are a good idea, Greenwood, in such areas ? Maybe a better option would be to put meters on all council properties from staff car parks to leisure centres. I can't see how one group of people should be penalised for taking their daily exercise against another group of fitness fanatics. We are all being encourage to take exercise, that includes gardening where many have to pay for garden refuse collection. Protectionism isn't acceptable when it comes down to those who enforce the laws in favour of their own advantages. (i.e. Council and facility users protection) .

Bet it was done after 6pm when the parking is free !!!... Now we can go round putting a label on all the others saying "Out of Order Due to Vandalism"

I wonder if sticky labels over the coin slot bearing the words "Out of order. Do not use" counts as vandalism?

No - in an ideal world you wouldn't have to pay to park at country parks etc. You wouldn't have to pay extra for a brown bin either. Fact is though, we are not in an ideal situation. The council needs to plug the hole in its budget somehow. They might give up on the parking charges for parks eventually - or they might extend the scheme to more areas, have another go at the promenade parking charge idea without the overnight charge, etc. Goodness knows what they'll think of next. Many other areas charge for some areas of promenade parking - we've been lucky so far - so it wouldn't surprise me if they did introduce that at some point.

Council has to find another £45m pounds in savings now as well.

The proper answer at council level would be to up council tax, many of these schemes they are coming up with are barely cost effective and certainly aren't value for money to anybody.

But the fault lies with the Government, they are taking more and more from the general public and still giving it to the rich. They are also borrowing far more money than any other UK Government and giving that money to the rich as well, then we the public are landed with that debt in addition to money being taken away from us.

Yes, agreed with your point about other promenade parking, but they are generally in tourist areas, such as Llandudno or Blackpool. We can't really call Hoylake a tourist hot spot. The charges in this area are purely and simply (in the majority of cases ) to be inflicted on the local residents.
Maybe there should be more encouragement for businesses to come to the area. Who promotes Wirral these days ? We've become the dead end cul-de-sac of Chester. There's nothing here to bring people in any longer apart from a million eateries. That might be a slight exaggeration.

Hmm, wildlife in the Dee estuary, world-beating views of the Liverpool skyline, miles of coast with stunning sunsets, country walking along the Wirral Way, out to Hilbre and elsewhere, bird-watching, cycling, sailing, pubs, cinema, Williamson, Lady Lever, Port Sunlight etc - there's plenty to promote really. If I lived inland and was at all interested in the great outdoors I'd be drawn to it. The eateries are a bonus. The Leisure Peninsula (old slogan!) still lives, it just needs a little TLC.

Maybe not such an exaggeration granny, we live in Wallasey Village, just in the area of the roundabout there are 10 food outlets five are cafes with seating, we have a number of schools in the area some of whose pupils appear to spend the day walking up and down to the various eateries and the most annoying part depositing their drinks bottles,cans, food wrappings and uneaten portions in a trail back to their respective schools, and the government keep telling us about child obesity!!

That has a very good double meaning if it was intended...yes totally out of order !!

Quite so! One could claim that the first sentence invalidated the second and therefore no lie had been intended!

I seem to recall someone telling me that when congestion charging was proposed in one of the Scandinavian countries, the half-completed control building was dynamited! Now that's real political involvement! True or not, it's a nice story which concluded with congestion charging being abandoned there.

The invented slogan 'The Leisure Peninsula' came about after the attractions and events slowly disintegrated into the dust.
When we think what has gone , Historic warships, Birkenhead Museum, Pumping Station, Pacific Road, Ferry services from Woodside, Wirral Show, events in Wirral during the Mersey River Festival, Balloons over the Mersey from Birkenhead Park, Europe Day, The Mercy Ships visiting Birkenhead, Scarecrow Festival, Kite Festival and a whole lot more which I can't drag from the grey matter right now.
We still have Birkenhead Priory and the Trams, who promotes them ? Liverpool were handed Wirral Tourism on a big plate,(as a 'suburb of Liverpool' ) however as most in Liverpool don't know Wirral too well or how to get around etc. it's hardly likely they will promote it. There is no shopping area to draw people in, and the only other places are Ness Gardens, Goredale, Cheshire Oaks or Blue Planet, all of which are Ellesmere Port and Neston council , and not easily accessible by public transport. The effort of getting to them is not worth the end result any longer. Halton has more to offer .

Don't forget the removal of public loos, then there are the crazy bus routes these days as well.

Bus services need to go under council control again, far more flexibility.

Arriva won't, they're owned by Deutsche Bahn, a German railway company. They're not going to give that up.