“Scorpio2010

Give it up son, charlesm1 is not worth it.

Back to Quedgeley with you and your spending money!

PCT.”

“Why would anyone consider using a car for a 2.5 mile journey? What can justify that? Laziness or stupidity? If people are doing that no wonder air quality in towns is so poor, stress levels high, hospitals full of victims of bad drivers and obese people, communities destroyed by people hiding behind their front doors except when they're isolated from their neighbours in their steel cocoons, children forced to play on playstations because its no longer safe to play games in the streets etc etc.
If the only way to make people realise that is high parking charges and high fuel prices then thats how it will have to be and those that need their cars can suffer the consequences.”

“charlesm1
I choose to live where I live. I also have the same choice about where I spend my money. Looks like it won't be Cheltenham in future. Desenchanter has come up with a sensible solution.”

“Phil - you ae aso saving an amazing amount of damage to the engine of your car. Frequent, very short journeys are not good.”

“So why not put a 3 hour limit on the free parking in these places. This will discourage commuters from dumping their cars for the day, but encourage the people who do want to spend the afternoon spending their money in the shops which CBC fleeces for rates, and give them a reasonable amount of time to do this. The wardens can be paid out of the £2million surplus already raised from parking charges in the rest of the town.”

“It would make more sense if CBC introduced more cycle racks or cycle lanes at the same time as restricing parking - but hey - thats local gov for you.”

“Scorpio2010

I fail to see your issue. If you have chosen to live in the rural outerland as you call it, then one of the compromises is that you will from time to time have to travel to a shopping area or town. There are a couple of inexpensive park and ride services conveniently located on the outskirts of Cheltenham available that your wife could have utilised, done all her shopping without any time restrictions and been on her way, where's the problem?
If you want the luxury of driving into the centre of any town or city, then you will undoubtedly have to accept the pay & display facilities. If the parking was free, I can guarantee that you would never ever find a space as they would be taken by the commuters by 8am each morning. The fact that your wife received a parking ticket was entirely her own fault as she decided to run the risk of overstaying her allocated time after receiving the call from her son. Perhaps she could now suspend her sons pocket money until she has been fully reimbursed for the fine.”

“Scorpio2010 - agreed. It was an expensive shirt...!!!

You are right - more parking charges will mean more ghost towns. We know it, Mary Portas knows it, but the local Councils (County, and Boroughs) aren't getting the message. They must be spending tens of thousands on consultations, getting plans drawn up, not to mention new ticket machines, re-marking the roads, extra enforcement officers etc. I wonder how long it will take to claw all of that back through the charges collected / fines handed out. A long time, I suspect. And if revenue drops off as more people get fed up with being forced to pay to park, it will take even longer.

Add in the extortionate rents many town centre landlords demand, and those ghost towns will be here even sooner. Good job we have out-of-town shopping centres, and internet shopping. Just think how much more the Councils would charge us to go into the town centres if they were the only shopping option...!!!”

“Phil. Have you thought about asking for a rise? Londoners have a weighting allowance, perhaps Cheltenham should be considered a candidate for this. Get off yer bike and start a campaign, just like Derek Goddard did when he saved the 'Bays', but yours can be 'fair play for parking in Chelters'.”

“Ah, yet again the vexed issue of parking charges raises its head. Let me indulge with my two penneth into the debate.
Living in the rural outerland with a practically non existant bus service, getting into town to add to the vibrancy of the retail economy is practical only by using the car. Just yesterday my wife was in town and was making her way back to the car, having left it on an on street pay and display, when she received a phone call from my son asking her to pick up a shirt. She judged that she could just about comply with the request and return to her car within the allotted time. Unfortunately she ended up in a queue at the till. The result was that she overran on the parking ticket by 10 minutes and returned to find a penalty ticket for £25 (expensive shirt!).
Much is being made of reinvigorating the High Street and no doubt Mary Portas is being paid a handsome sum for the privilege to come up with a few ideas. It strikes me, however, that our town centres have become ghost towns mainly through the obstacles put in the way of their accessibility. Why? Because, after yesterday's experience, we are going to think long and hard before we venture anywhere near the town centre in the future. On-line shopping or an out of town facility with free parking seems far more attractive. No doubt there are many more people thinking along the same lines as ourselves.”