“Great idea in theory but is this going to cost jobs??? Loss of revenue for the car parks is going to have to made up somewhere and that will probably mean more job loses for council staff. Most people accept paying for parking especially in a city the size of Gloucester. Jobs are few and far between at the moment and unemployment is up at an all time high, perhaps Mr James you should be thinking about that instead of trying to get the voters on side ready for the next election??????”

“There will always be a mix of people in a city, Plaindealer, but everyone would appreciate a better choice of shops; if £1 shops are everywhere, then people use them. All sorts of people use them.

I agree with Msevern, that 'Gloucester has a significant opportunity to do something very positive with the city centre and that is to offer something very different to what other local towns are offering'. Somebody mentioned Barton Fayre, and that's the sort of atmosphere I think would draw people; it works very well in Tewkesbury. Gloucester does not need to emulate that but can certainly borrow from it to add that distinctive something to a visit here.”

“I still suggest that Gloucester has a significant opportunity to do something very positive with the city centre and that is to offer something very different to what other local towns are offering.

King's Square is an ideal location for a market similar in size and structure to that of Norwich. People travel from all over East Anglia to visit Norwich and this is one of the primary reasons. A proper market offers something that cannot be found on the internet and therefore does not suffer from the blight that other shopping experiences will as internet shopping expands.

City and town centres must now focus on offering unique experiences to shoppers such as one off shops rather than the drab dreary chains found in every other town and city. For the first time I found almost all my Christmas presents on-line this year and saved a fortune. 50% and more by buying from these retailers, but on-line.

Stroud's market does well because it offers a unique experience not available on-line. Towns like Ledbury and Nailsworth thrive on independent shops. All that will be offered by the creation of the carbuncle that will fill King's Square is more of the same of what we have. Let's grasp the opportunity while it is still available. Be bold.

http://tinyurl.com/75xxxbd http://tinyurl.com/7escj2z”

“Alchemies...Yes certainly I feel exactly that as do most I know. Alas the demographics between the Town and the City are far apart. Gloucester is not without some nice corners and Cheltenham has a poor lower high street but Gloucester has no Promenade, no Montpellier, and a cross section of shoppers there look markedly different in my view. A friend of mine came to stay and visited both. I had best confine myself to saying he preferred Cheltenham.”

“Crazy stuff - it still means that if you put £1 in the machine if you see something you want to buy on the way back to the car you can't for fear of being fined or costing more on the way out of the car park. It is a shopper's tax no more no less. Make parking free all day every day but with a generous limit to stop people abusing it. This will relax shoppers, enable browsing and more trade. Gloucester could really lead the way on this if it wasn't for some politicians digging their heals in.”

“I understand the point fully but it is a fallacious one; you are assuming that you are the template for everyone. Not everyone has a credit card or a bank account debit card to use online; not everyone has a PC or Broadband access except perhaps at a library. The demand for shops *is* there because not everyone wants to spend their leisure time within their own 4 walls. The demand for shops is there because some things have to be seen in person; for example trying on shoes or buying jewellery. There is little to no benefit in having the sort of town centre you describe when leisure is usually the offset of employment and with employment reduced due to lack of shops, the disposable income used in leisure activities will be severely reduced. Unemployed people are less than likely to waste limited funds on a trip to the town centre just for a stroll when they get there. That is *my* point.”

“Alchemies - you're missing the point.

ALL new town centre initiatives for the last 20 years or so have been underpinned by getting retailers in first, who then covered each town centre in identikit buildings. This cannot continue - the demand for shops is not there, and the percentage of shopping done on the internet will only increase.

What motivation is there for me to go shopping in Cheltenham, when I can get it delivered next day to work from Amazon?

Once landowners grasp the nettle and realise that simply painting shops everywhere isn't an option anymore, we'll get somewhere. Town centres will be more like leisure areas, which is what they were years ago.”

“What an interesting concept; severe unemployment mitigated by immaculate lawns and the sounds of a colliery band.”

“I live in Cheltenham, but don't feel superior shopping here as I get better prices and service by shopping at Amazon instead.

All this ridiculous arguing between different places is ridiculous. Town centres are dead, they're not coming back. When will a council grasp the nettle and make them into leisure areas, with crazy concepts like grass and bandstands, instead of identikit shopping areas?”

“Plaindealer, that remark about the shoppers in Cheltenham being superior is, to say the least, unfortunate. Do you feel superior by shopping there instead of in Gloucester?”