Yesterday’s East Anglia Daily Times reports that Tendring District Council’s innovative free parking scheme is being hailed a success after businesses said they have seen a significant increase in footfall. The Council is set to continue the popular initiative which allows people to use their car parks for 12 hours during the day completely free of charge. A survey carried out by the local authority on hundreds of businesses found that around 50% had noticed a higher footfall through their town centres since the free permits were issued to households. Approximately 30% of businesses said they noticed an increase in the number of customers coming through their doors. Tendring introduced the scheme at the end of July last year. Every council taxpaying household in the district was issued with a free parking permit for use at any of the council’s 25 car parks from 10 a.m. to midnight. Tendring District Council’s initiative has seen town centres buck the national trend, encouraging shoppers to visit their local retailers. Business leaders in Suffolk last night said the success of the scheme “bursts the balloon” of those who claim there is no correlation between free parking and increase in footfall. Mark Cordell, chief executive of town centre business improvement group Bid4Bury, said: “This scheme is a great example of the local authority listening to, and acting upon, the views of businesses. It is no surprise to me that it has been a huge success”.
Three cheers for a council that sees car parking as support for commercial well-being and not as some form of cash cow useful for balancing the cash flow deficit The full reports can be read on (http://www.eadt.co.uk/news/politics/tendring_free_parking_scheme_boosts_business_1_1951477
Author: Brian Riley
Habemus Papam (soon)
Reuters today cited Christopher Bellitto, a Church historian at Kean University in New Jersey, who said that by citing health reasons for his decision, Benedict has also helped the Church by setting a modern precedent for resigning at a time when medical progress means the elderly can live far beyond their active years. Whilst the rules for election of a new Pope are continually under review, according to Morris West (Shoes of a Fisherman) nomination and election can also take place by acclamation. But one doesn’t have to be in the Conclave to be appointed to the triple crown. The precedent is set by Pope Fabian, who was in Rome (236) immediately after the death of the forty day Pope Anterus. Whilst the names of several illustrious and noble persons were being considered, a dove suddenly descended upon the head of Fabian, who was not, at that time, being considered as a candidate. To the assembled brethren the sight recalled the Gospel scene of the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the Saviour, and so, divinely inspired, as it were, they chose Fabian with joyous unanimity and placed him in the Chair of Peter. Little is known of Fabian’s pontificate but during his reign of fourteen years there was a lull in the storm of persecutions.
Now I’m wondering that if I went to Rome and sprinkled bird seed on my head, could I organise a valid nomination to the ultimate job?
On the other hand it might be better to focus on the county election in May.
On the Buses (contd)
Last May I reported how together with three “partners in crime” we had persuaded Suffolk County Council to reinstate the evening and Sunday bus service between Hadleigh and Ipswich.
The service was restored on a pilot basis on the 20th August and since then we have encouraged everyone to use the service whether it be for the cinema, shopping, education or participating in the evening economy. On Friday we learned that the pilot has been successful and that the service will be reinstated until February 2014.
For the time being we can rest easy about the people of Hadleigh being connected to Ipswich and beyond. The service still needs to be used because as always it’s a case of use it or lose it.
Success can be seen in many ways. In addition to the “official purposes” the bus service enhances people’s lives in unexpected ways. One Sunday user told me that “…it lets me visit my mum in her Ipswich nursing home.” And one bus driver told recently that romance blooms as young swains can now get back from courting their inamoratas.
The late evening and week end bus service is a success at so many levels.
Waking Up and Smelling the Coffee
Despite my previous promise to myself I have used Starbucks recently.
But in mitigation, there was no room in the nearby Costa.
For me. this is now the Starbucks’ advantage – they are the second choice.
Meanwhile Starbucks seem to be infected by the big girl’s blouse syndrome*
On the 26th January The Telegraph reported that Kris Engskov, the multinational’s UK managing director, demanded talks at Downing Street after the Prime Minister had said that tax-avoiding companies had to “wake up and smell the coffee”. Mr Cameron’s use of the phrase at the World Economic Forum in Switzerland was taken as a direct attack on Starbucks which has been criticised for not paying corporation tax in Britain.
(As if wake up and smell the coffee would make one think immediately of Starbucks – when did they copyright the words?)
Mr Engskov was so concerned about the “politicisation” of the tax issue that he asked for the talks at No 10, where he met officials last Friday.
Starbucks argues that it makes no profits in the UK and so is not required to pay the tax. The business turnover for the U.K. is not disclosed but if it is not making any profits why was it thinking of investing £100 million in new UK branches and why are sources close to the business saying that plans could be put on hold. Could the lack of confidence have anything to do with declining footfall and fortunes?
Meanwhile, whilst Starbucks are rattling their sabres, Lavazza have announced ambitious plans to open as many as 400 shops over the next decade.
*From “he’s flapping like a big girl’s blouse”, which conjures up the twin ideas of a large garment flapping on a washing line and of a man flapping in the sense of panicking.
Being Mugged By Local Government
In early November I blogged on the relationship of Hadleigh High School with its neighbours. (See: Quis custodiet ipsos custodes?). Today the neighbouring residents got their day in front of Babergh’s Development Committee to challenge the erection of an amenity light. The specific proposal was to retain one amenity light which was located on one of the columns which also carried one of the permitted floodlights. The amenity light to be retained overlooked the path from the school and car parking areas rather than the MUGA itself (Multi Use Games Area). Well, it was an interesting experience. First the Council’s own documentation contained errors – so much so that they recognised that there may have been invalidities. Additionally, the recommendation to the Committee referred to Lister Road as Lister Lane (according to Google to be found in Halifax and Bradford). The nearest property in Station Road is 50 metres from the light not 85.
The applicant had stated that the light was required to access the MUGA in a safe manner. However you do not need a 12 m high light for safety purposes unless you are running a lorry car park or similar. The Council officials pronounced MUGA as MUGGA. Which is just how the residents felt – mugged. The object in challenging the application was so that some of the previous decisions could be amended to correct past mistakes and unintended consequences. The Committee approved the application without giving the residents what they needed and ignored their entitlement to the peaceful enjoyment of their possessions. From my point of view – it was a sad day for justifying the democratic process. And a sad day for the residents.
The Lion and Lamb
Yesterday was one of those days which worked out well once you realised that it was not profitable to try to run up hill through the mud.
We needed to meet the offspring at Stansted arriving from Salzburg – but the Austrian wing de-icer was either over worked or on a go slow – so arrival time was definitely a moveable feast.
Rather than wait in the arrivals’ lounge clocking up parking fees faster than a pay day loan in default, we looked for somewhere to eat close to the airport which is when we discovered the Lion and the Lamb, situated on the B1256 at Little Canfield.
It is less than three miles from the airport – which translates as ten minutes on the road – so collectees can call you on the mobile and summon you from the pub.
The lunch was just what we needed, the house red quite palatable and the coffee was freshly ground.
We left the pub, parked at the airport and met our travellers as they emerged into the public area.
So all in all, instead of problems, the delay gave us the opportunity to enjoy a very nice Essex pub.
The Morning(s) After
Hadleigh people certainly know how to party. On January 1st the town’s Magdelan Road recycling centre was overflowing with the evidence of very merry Christmases indeed! I informed Babergh District Council on the evening of the 1st January and by the afternoon of the 2nd the glass had been collected and the street care team had cleared all the bags and boxes left behind.
To be picky, leaving one’s rubbish by the bottle banks is littering at best and fly-tipping at worst.
Three cheers then for the Council and its teams for responding so quickly and so well.
Hadleigh Street Watch
I am a volunteer member of Hadleigh Street Watch. Our commitment is to walk the streets (patrol sounds too official) in pairs for at least two hours a month. Today I joined Glenn Abbassi on our first walk of the year. We just beat the rain and purposefully wandered from the War Memorial, up to Tower Mill Lane and a look at the new Persimmon Estate by Lady Lane, then across to Malyon Road, Oxford Road, the new Morrison’s, a look at the Brett River and back onto the High Street.
Overall people at pleased to see us and occasionally stop whatever they are doing to take a break and fill us in with their activities.
Personally I find the opportunity to walk my town very beneficial. We even got to enjoy a coffee shop (called the Daily Grind tel: 01473 823267) on the Industrial Estate. The Daily Grind has been open for about three months and produces a very nice espresso and cappuccino. It is an ideal place to stop off at when going to and from the recycling centre or any of the businesses on the Industrial Estate. The Daily Grind is open from Monday to Friday and as well as teas and coffees they also serve sandwiches, pastries, jacket potatoes, muffins, slices, cakes and cookies. They offer a take out service and will also provide buffets for meetings.
For more details of volunteering for Street Watch please contact the co-ordinator Verity Line (Verity.Line@suffolk.pnn.police.uk).
Another Hero Passes
Friday’s Telegraph (December 28th) reports that Serge Renaud has died aged 84. He was a renowned research scientist who became a hero of the French wine industry when he announced on American television that drinking red wine is good for the heart. Renaud argued that the two or three glasses of red wine most French people consumed every day with their meals was a significant reason for their better health. Challenged to show figures to back up his claims about red wine, in an article in The Lancet in 1992 he drew on epidemiological research and data of his own to claim that 20 to 30 grams of alcohol a day (about two to three standard glasses of wine) could reduce the risk of dying from a heart attack by 40 per cent. Wine protects the heart, he maintained, mainly by acting on platelets in the blood to prevent clotting. The obituary did not say how he died but he managed to live to 84 and obviously worked hard enjoying himself.
So let’s raise a glass of Bordeaux to his memory and his efforts to improve our life styles.
The full obituary can be found on http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/9766180/Serge-Renaud.html
Jargon Generator
The Economic Jargon Generator (http://www.dack.com/web/bullshit.html) is a joke page meshing triple vocabulary elements to produce high falutin’ expressions defined as always to baffle the brains of the recipient. Which is why I tell myself that the five/six most important words a politician can say are: “I don’t understand, please explain”. One of my New Year resolutions will be to try to avoid being accused of using the jargon generator. Now that is a fundamentally irrevocable undertaking!
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