Drivers boycott carpark over fee hike (From Daily Echo)
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Drivers boycott carpark over fee hike
10:59am Friday 26th October 2012 in News
Empty: Rumbridge Street carpark
DRIVERS are boycotting a town centre car park after council chiefs went ahead with a controversial plan to levy charges.
The Rumbridge Street car park in Totton has 132 spaces – but most have stood empty since a pay-and-display meter was installed three months ago.
New Forest District Council ignored more than 70 objections and forged ahead with proposals to axe free parking.
A spot check by the Daily Echo revealed seven parking spaces were occupied. The other 125, including ten where people can park free for an hour, were empty.
Campaigners who fought the introduction of charges said some of their worst fears had come true.
Councillor David Harrison claimed that motorists were parking in residential streets to dodge the new fees, which range from £1.50 for two hours’ parking to £5 for 20 hours.
He added: “The car park is now just a great big empty waste of space.
“Hardly anything is being made through selling tickets.
Once the cost of the ticket machines and the wardens is taken into account it must be making a loss.
“Why would motorists pay up to £5 a day when they can park in nearby roads or even on grass verges.”
But a council spokesman claimed that more motorists were using the Elingfield and Winsor Road car parks, which were nearer Totton railway station, now that the Rumbridge Street facility was no longer free.
The number of pay-anddisplay meters in the New Forest rose in July following a review.
The spokesman added: “The business rates payable on the Rumbridge Street car park will have risen to £14,000 by next April so it’s important we generate as much revenue as possible, otherwise this will become a burden on the general council tax payer.
“The council doesn’t believe the general council tax payer, or those who don’t own a car, should pay for the provision of parking.”
The Rumbridge Street meter took a total of just £1,415 in July-September.
But the council says these are traditionally quiet months in Totton because people are away on holiday.
The spokesman stressed that the car park was still free at weekends and on bank holidays.
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Comments(19)
Mr_Forest
says...
12:24pm Fri 26 Oct 12
Tottonion
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12:26pm Fri 26 Oct 12
Tottonion
says...
12:26pm Fri 26 Oct 12
BikerNick
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12:32pm Fri 26 Oct 12
Brusher Mills
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12:53pm Fri 26 Oct 12
Huffter
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1:39pm Fri 26 Oct 12
Mr_Forest wrote:How would you propose to turn Southampton City Council into a park and ride site?
Why don't they just turn it into a park and ride site along with Southampton City Council?
Lone Ranger.
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1:47pm Fri 26 Oct 12
.
Their two main attractions/faciliti
es are .. ...... Asda and a good Car Wash.
.
acid drop
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2:18pm Fri 26 Oct 12
Lone Ranger. wrote:dont forget the 99p shop
The question is ......... Why on earth would anyone want to visit Totton, let alone pay for the priviage of parking.
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Their two main attractions/faciliti
es are .. ...... Asda and a good Car Wash.
.
birddog38
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2:39pm Fri 26 Oct 12
Charging for the once free car parks is only adding nails to the coffin lid! The council are digging the grave already without realising it!
No wonder Totton is know as "Rotten Totton"!
RIP Totton...
electrolux
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3:15pm Fri 26 Oct 12
good-gosh
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3:17pm Fri 26 Oct 12
Ginger_cyclist
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4:50pm Fri 26 Oct 12
Brusher Mills
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7:03pm Fri 26 Oct 12
good-gosh wrote:That's true in the morning the air is so fresh it reminds me if camping.
Totton - a clean and orderly town, with parking for most beside their homes and downwind of fresh forests and heathland that bathes the town in oxygen.
geoff51
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8:26pm Fri 26 Oct 12
electrolux wrote:Totton has one big advantage apart from the fact that you dont live there, is that its not part of Southampton.
What kind of sick person would go to Totton in the first place, let alone pay to park there? Worst place on the whole of the South coast.. no loss if it disappeared tomorrow.. If they want to raise cash they could charge people to leave Totton? Yes I'd be happy to pay anything to not go to Totton as would anyone else..
Thankfully there is a large river that prevents them from taking us over.
I moved to Totton many years ago after most of my life living in Shirley and enjoy the peace and quiet, the fresh air, and the proximity to the New Forest.
Totton may not be perfect but it beats Southampton any time as a good place to live.
befriendly
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10:32pm Fri 26 Oct 12
skeptik
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8:05am Sat 27 Oct 12
josh1483
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10:36am Sat 27 Oct 12
geoff51 wrote:totton rules compared to shirley any way which has become poland
electrolux wrote:Totton has one big advantage apart from the fact that you dont live there, is that its not part of Southampton.
What kind of sick person would go to Totton in the first place, let alone pay to park there? Worst place on the whole of the South coast.. no loss if it disappeared tomorrow.. If they want to raise cash they could charge people to leave Totton? Yes I'd be happy to pay anything to not go to Totton as would anyone else..
Thankfully there is a large river that prevents them from taking us over.
I moved to Totton many years ago after most of my life living in Shirley and enjoy the peace and quiet, the fresh air, and the proximity to the New Forest.
Totton may not be perfect but it beats Southampton any time as a good place to live.
electrolux
says...
3:28pm Sat 27 Oct 12
josh1483 wrote:if Shirley is Poland Totton is Romania, and by the way the Polish girls in Shirley are stunning, they make the English girls look dog-rough..
geoff51 wrote:totton rules compared to shirley any way which has become poland
electrolux wrote:Totton has one big advantage apart from the fact that you dont live there, is that its not part of Southampton.
What kind of sick person would go to Totton in the first place, let alone pay to park there? Worst place on the whole of the South coast.. no loss if it disappeared tomorrow.. If they want to raise cash they could charge people to leave Totton? Yes I'd be happy to pay anything to not go to Totton as would anyone else..
Thankfully there is a large river that prevents them from taking us over.
I moved to Totton many years ago after most of my life living in Shirley and enjoy the peace and quiet, the fresh air, and the proximity to the New Forest.
Totton may not be perfect but it beats Southampton any time as a good place to live.
mummsie says...
11:33am Fri 26 Oct 12