Another nail in the coffin to m'bro town centre shopping

BiggEggo said:
Last couple of occasions I have gone into town looking to buy new clothes - I found myself massively underwhelmed with the choice of shops. For a 50 (ahem) Yr old, historically I could always get decent clobber in Binns, before they got Ashley'ed. Even found decent labels in Debs.

Now I just wander around in a daze. Even the missus can't help, and she is a professional standard shopper.
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Best I can offer is Matalan.
 
norfolkngood said:
(Irony Alert)

You cant blame the Tories for this. Its a Labour Council that are bringing the charges in.
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Central Government control local Council funding.
Local councils have become brokers for Tory Cuts!
Unless you`de like to tell us which services should be cut - to allow the few to stand their tin-boxes on a bit of tarmac for a few hours?
 
TheLodger said:
I think we only have 2 small bus lanes in Middlesbrough.
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Amazing isnt it, how lies and myths become "truths" when people try to run down local councils.
If they stopped for one minute and checked the facts - they might be better off.
But some dont want to believe the truth!
(y)
 
r00fie1 said:
Amazing isnt it, how lies and myths become "truths" when people try to run down local councils.
If they stopped for one minute and checked the facts - they might be better off.
But some dont want to believe the truth!
(y)
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This is taken from the council website regarding bus lanes. Still not that many to cause major issues.

Bus lane locations​

Bus lanes in the town centre are in the following locations and operate at the following times:

Borough Road - at any time

Brentnall Street - at any time

Hartington Road - Monday to Saturday, 7am to 7pm

Newport Road - at any time

Wilson Street - Monday to Sunday, 7am to 7pm
 
Norman_Conquest said:
This is taken from the council website regarding bus lanes. Still not that many to cause major issues.

Bus lane locations​

Bus lanes in the town centre are in the following locations and operate at the following times:

Borough Road - at any time

Brentnall Street - at any time

Hartington Road - Monday to Saturday, 7am to 7pm

Newport Road - at any time

Wilson Street - Monday to Sunday, 7am to 7pm
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I agree Norman.
Bus lanes arent the problem.
The issue is - do the Council cut services to Child Protection and other Childrens services - so that some people can stand their cars on a piece of tarmac for a few hours?
I suggest they catch the bus.
 
r00fie1 said:
I agree Norman.
Bus lanes arent the problem.
The issue is - do the Council cut services to Child Protection and other Childrens services - so that some people can stand their cars on a piece of tarmac for a few hours?
I suggest they catch the bus.
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I think public transport should be better but that is another argument.

I get the argument regarding not cutting public services due to previously working in that field, but would like to know how much revenue the council think they will make by charging for car parking.
 
The cuts are truly horrendous. They will impact everyone but especially the young and vulnerable.
The council are looking for public reaction. I hope people read through the cut back proposals but I fear that it won't be clear exactly what they mean.
For instance I work with the Events team to bring festivals and walks and talks etc. The Events team is to be closed at an apparent saving of over £120k. If I break this down this means no free parades, festivals, kids events in Middlesbrough. No events designed to bring people into the town centre. You talk about how car parking charges will damage the town. What about having no reindeer parade or Christmas lights switch on.
No Mela.
If Boro got promoted, no open top bus parade.
No talks, walks etc in parks or public buildings.
My festivals Local History Month/Discover Middlesbrough cost a total of £4k. Once in the past I put one on for free. But without a budget publicity is at a premium. The majority of people do not know what has been programmed when and where.
So that saving comes at a real cost for people and for the commerce in the town.
Please don't just focus on car parking the proposals will be devastating.
 
All cuts are bad, but this years we are really at the thick end of the worst of the worst, for the last 12 years we have cut to the bone, this year there is very little doubt about it, the bone will get damaged, there is no fat left to cut, whatever is cut will really affect the town, Robs example is just a smidgen of the proposed cuts and his explanation is a good one, whatever is cut, this year it will result in dramatic changes to the make up of our town and our communities. The proposed cuts are Preston's cuts, this is his budget, his and his executives, all of which are Tories and Independents, none of which are condemning the government for the drastic cuts that they are forcing on us.
One thing for sure is there will be cuts this year, council tax will increase, we'll all pay more for much less and in doing so, we will also be watching the very fabric of our society fall apart because of the cuts and the support that SOME councillors and MP's accept as necessary.

I won't be accepting them and thus will not be voting for the budget in it's current form, and chatting to other Labour councillors, neither will them, enough is enough!
 
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r00fie1 said:
They have done in Nottingham, Sheffield, Manchester, Birmingham.
+ Metro on Tyneside.
But it takes political will, planning and foresite.
Something Mr Preston has none of.
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Transport should have been a large part of the work going on at Teesport and something our majors and council leaders should have demanded before a spade went into the ground.
 
Norman_Conquest said:
Transport should have been a large part of the work going on at Teesport and something our majors and council leaders should have demanded before a spade went into the ground.
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It looks like T-side is a long way behind as usual.
Transport infrastructure is appalling.
Local buses owned by Stagecoach and Arriva are disgusting - many old and unsuitable for modern needs. Dirty. Worn out. Cramped. Infrequent. Cherry-picked - services. Bluddy awful services after peak times. The railway "stations" on T-side are an embarrasment, as is the railway infrastructure. Services (?) to Stockton, Billingham, Hartlepool and beyond are slow and infrequent. Its been going on for so long - people deserve better. But when its all privately owned, no one can tell any of them that you want cheap reliable clean efficient public transport, meeting social need not profits. Unless public money is used to subsidise their poor services they arent interested.
 
Norman_Conquest said:
Transport should have been a large part of the work going on at Teesport and something our majors and council leaders should have demanded before a spade went into the ground.
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The problem is of course, Mayor Houchen has total control of the transport budget, and sadly almost every penny of that is spent on keeping his bloody airport going, that what you all voted him in for....
 
TheLodger said:
The problem is of course, Mayor Houchen has total control of the transport budget, and sadly almost every penny of that is spent on keeping his bloody airport going, that what you all voted him in for....
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And there lies your problem.

You will know better than me, but how does it work with the housing companies/new builds. There are plenty of new builds going on in the area, could the councils put a larger levy on them to provide social support and better transport infrastructure?
 
Norman_Conquest said:
And there lies your problem.

You will know better than me, but how does it work with the housing companies/new builds. There are plenty of new builds going on in the area, could the councils put a larger levy on them to provide social support and better transport infrastructure?
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No sadly not, the government provides the numbers on subsidies that housing providers pay towards social infrastructure, some builders do offer more than what's legislated to get planning through, most don't, because the government also demands a certain number of new homes that must be built and if a town or area is below that; usually the planning department is overruled by, yep you guessed it, the government minister in charge. Large builders just build where is necessary and land bank while waiting for a change of policy to suit their business.
 
exiledinboro said:
London transport is the most subsidised system in the world but the value is not just numbers

I’ve asked this before but does Labour want to close the airport? I won’t ask a third time 🤷🏻‍♂️ Because that’s what you seem to be saying
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And I keep answering!

Yes it's about choices, my choice would to to subsidies the most used system, that in my mind is local A to B transport systems, if people want to fly, then in today world where we don't have an abundance of spare tax payers cash, then their should jolly well pay what the going rate is.
 
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