Seeing that this topic has arisen on the other forum, I thought that the following email circulated to the members of the Newbury Retail Association, would be of interest. It was forwarded to me by a colleague. There was no indication that it was confidential, so here goes...


Premium Price Parking in Park Way.

Nick Carter (Chief Executive at West Berkshire Council) revealed at the Friday meeting of the Town Centre Partnership, that parking charges in the new underground car park at Parkway would be higher than the charges in the rest of the town. He also revealed that there would not be enough spaces allocated for every resident of the apartments in the new development.

Mr Carter had assured me at a previous meeting of the TCP that this would not be the case, and that there was an agreement with SLI (Standard Life Investments) that they would not charge ‘more’ than the current charges in Newbury. Apparently the agreement is that SLI will not charge ‘less’ than the current charges in Newbury.

Mr Carter advised members of the TCP that shoppers would be prepared to pay a ‘premium’ for ‘convenient parking’. He also advised members that SLI would be paying a minimum of £300,000 per annum to West Berkshire Council as part of the agreement for selling off the original car parks in Parkway for £1.00. Presumably this sum will go towards subsidising the existing Newbury car parks.

Traders that I have spoken to since Friday have welcomed this announcement, because they feel it will encourage shoppers to park in other parts of the town. My own thoughts are that it will encourage WBC to raise current charges in the existing car parks.

Brian Burgess

Chairman

01635 569123

There is little that is new in this - only that they intend to charge more than the WBC parks.  This must be good news for WBC, I was concerned that the £300k they collect from Parkway would simply mean that they collect £300k+ less from the other parks (ie that people would park in the convenient Parkway park instead of the WBC parks). If the charges are higher in Parkway it will encourage many to park elsewhere so the revenue from the WBC parks should not drop as much as I feared.

Quoted from Archie

Seeing that this topic has arisen on the other forum, I thought that the following email circulated to the members of the Newbury Retail Association, would be of interest. It was forwarded to me by a colleague. There was no indication that it was confidential, so here goes...

Thanks for posting this Archie. You have probably succeeded in getting me excluded from future meetings of the TCP.

Last year Mr Carter was paid in excess of £158,690.

I wonder if 'economical with the truth' would have been acceptable?

'Tabled an untruth' is another term.

O.K, if that was a tad harsh, how's this?

Last year Mr Carter was paid in excess of £158,690, if we paid a little more could we get one that didn't indulge in terminological inexactitudes?


Threep.

Quoted from BrianB

Thanks for posting this Archie. You have probably succeeded in getting me excluded from future meetings of the TCP.

BB - the next Julian Assange!

Quoted from Threepwood

O.K, if that was a tad harsh, how's this? Last year Mr Carter was paid in excess of £158,690, if we paid a little more could we get one that didn't indulge in terminological inexactitudes? Threep.

Or perhaps one that treated the TCP with respect so that when they advise said body, the information they convey is accurate?  To be fair, history shows that it seems some of his back-room staff have difficulty with candour.  Perhaps he was mislead like everyone else?

Quoted from Greenham Common

Or perhaps one that treated the TCP with respect so that when they advise said body, the information they convey is accurate?  To be fair, history shows that it seems some of his back-room staff have difficulty with candour.  Perhaps he was mislead like everyone else?

In which case he should reprimand those responsible, and if it keeps happening dismiss them!

While we're on parking, Gefreiter Vickers has a very good point (and it's not often that you see those words together in the same sentence!) about WBC's parking provision policies, doesn't he?  http://goo.gl/fRTlI

Given that there's likely to be at least one car owner per flat, we're talking about over 100 more cars pushed out onto local roads due to Parkway alone.  What with the looming Carter-Griffin Excrescence and now these parking related debacles, I'm increasingly concerned that the high command have completely lost the plot.  User, any inside info? Are they still all on holiday?

You'd rather hope that people buying these apartments would realise what they're buying before parting with cash.  Too much to assume?  If they get taken in by estate agent's waffle/spin, a lovely brochure and a promise of 'parking in the vicinity' then more fool them.


It's all part of central government plans for sustainable developments, whereby townies don't need to own cars as shops are on their doorsteps, bus routes are close by, as are railway stations.  Occasional car use can be sorted by residents organising a 'car-share scheme'  (But meanwhile....in the REAL world........ the residents are going to be screaming for parking to be provided and are going to jam their cars into nearby roads in the evenings)

Quoted from spartacus

The residents are going to be screaming for parking to be provided and are going to jam their cars into nearby roads in the evenings)

Where are the nearby roads adjacent to Parkway that they will jam?

If every apartment in Parkway has at least one car, then we will be 71 spaces short for residents parking. Some of them will have 2 cars, so I estimate at least 100 vehicles looking for overnight parking. In the old days Pelican Lane car park would have been ideal, but now with a £1 overnight fee (£313 per annum after deducting free parking on a Sunday) this will not be an option.

Oh Mr Carter! You have not thought this through properly. I sense unrest from the residents of Cartergrad Towers over this one.

Quoted from BrianB

Thanks for posting this Archie. You have probably succeeded in getting me excluded from future meetings of the TCP.

Looks like the lunatics have taken over the asylum this week.

Quoted from Archie

Where are the nearby roads adjacent to Parkway that they will jam?

'Nearby' in this context means any bit of road within walking distance from their flat - as that would be their only viable option. The options are fairly limited I admit and they'll be competing for that space with the existing residents, but most of the restrictions end at 6pm and the areas then become a bit of a free-for-all.  St Mary's Road, Charlton Place maybe? (just a short walk through the park to home).  London Rd has parking bays... North end of Northbrook St?

We'll probably find cars parked in the oddest places and nooks/crannies where the wardens can't issue tickets.  Car owners can be quite inventive when they are desperate.  Suggest NTC strengthen the gates/bollards that prevent cars parking on the grass in Vicky Park.....  

I also predict a petition being submitted by the new residents demanding part of the park in converted to hard standing parking for them....