Unchain The Brighton Motorist

[The Large One]

Lewes road for one it was two lane's both ways, then some bright spark not only reduced it to one lane then also reduced the speed to 20 mph.

One - you said City Centre. You can hardly call Lewes Road that.

Two - that was a plan brought in by the Tories, paid for by a Coalition government, and backed by everyone in council.

 

[Chicken Runner61]

I can see a flaw with the leaving the van with the doors open, someone will unload it for you!!

I sometimes use meters when I work in Lewes but I'm always checking the time and worrying about getting a ticket.

The traders permit is the best but its expensive and they don't like giving them out............................ so there is a waiting list!

They have got rid of a few loading bays and single yellows too and there is nothing better than getting a ticket when you have a permit and have to park on yellows because you can't find a space in Hanover!

Its free parking up there but they have 2 or three wardens on scooters running around giving out tickets to people working that can't find a space.

 

[Max Paper]

Utter gibberish.

North Laine is a thriving shopping centre with small independent / family-run businesses at its core. The turnover of shop spaces is no better or worse than before.

The Greens have done nothing in terms of changing road transport policy in the city centre, nor have they closed any city centre roads, not created any new contraflows / one ways systems / pedestrian-only streets.

Sorry, you're just making this up.

Are all small businesses in the city centre? The answer is obviously no you bellend.

 

[Chicken Runner61]

Are all small businesses in the city centre? The answer is obviously no you bellend.

I'd hardly call North Laines a shopping centre - in the seventies it was - Sydney Street / Gardners St and kensington Gardens were a hive of small businesses, butchers greengrocers hardwear shops galore even a comet (Rayfords) and it was a hard working area - There and London Road was the place to go shopping.

Now its more arts and crafts with lots of right on food shops which I'm not knocking because I like it but you go there to have a beer rather than shop

 

[brighton bluenose]

Are all small businesses in the city centre? The answer is obviously no you bellend.

Your original post said that the Greens had brought businesses 'to their knees' but the FACT is that Brighton and Hoves economy has stood up relatively well to the recession and only two weeks ago the Argus reported that the city is doing fairly well compared to other comparable towns and cities in the region - but don't let the truth get in the way of talking absolute shyte!
Unless you have real evidence of how the Greens policies have led to businesses being brought 'to their knees'?!
I wont be holding my breath!

 

[c0lz]

One - you said City Centre. You can hardly call Lewes Road that.

Two - that was a plan brought in by the Tories, paid for by a Coalition government, and backed by everyone in council.

You mean Lewes road the second main road leading into the city center

The plan back in 2010/2011 are not quite the same one the greens have bull dozed though .

 

[The Large One]

Are all small businesses in the city centre? The answer is obviously no you bellend.

Great response.

 

[Spun Cuppa]

A bus I was waiting for at lunchtime coming up from the town was eight minutes late, and the Brighton and Hove Buses website now states there is very heavy congestion northbound around the Old Steine. Brighton is a small Regency seaside (former) town, and car ownership nationally has doubled in the last twenty years, so come a fine Sunday, everybody piles down our way and are then surprised when it takes an hour to get out of town

 

[Bill Cassidy's tie up]

Mate I don't know you and I dont mean to be rude but you are talking absolte crap - if you had a job in the city centre for an hour you would park on a meter it is simple as that!

I think you should take a day off work and come in with me and see how easy that is lol. A lot of jobs we add £30 on to because we know we're gonna get a ticket whilst unloading etc and yes we pay for traders permits but still average 2-3 tickets a week.

 

[Chicken Runner61]

Your original post said that the Greens had brought businesses 'to their knees' but the FACT is that Brighton and Hoves economy has stood up relatively well to the recession and only two weeks ago the Argus reported that the city is doing fairly well compared to other comparable towns and cities in the region - but don't let the truth get in the way of talking absolute shyte!
Unless you have real evidence of how the Greens policies have led to businesses being brought 'to their knees'?!
I wont be holding my breath!

The reason Brighton has done well (relatively) is that we have a steady influx of people selling a £2M house in London and buying a £750K house in Brighton and spending £100k doing it up.

Some of them also buy another house or development and rent it out to provide an income, others set up a business in the hope they can stay here and not have to work back in London.

All that money filters to quite a few businesses across the city and then in to the council.

~Thats why it appears we are doing better than other parts.

On the downside - this is driving Brightonians out who can't compete to buy houses and flats and causing great diversity of wages.

Whilst house prices were always a problem A few years ago young people could always find a house/flat that was cheap enough and needed doing up and when they did it they could move forward from there. Now every property that has a development value is snapped up by outside developers or rich people to buy and let giving people on low wages no chance. This send the rents and property prices up making the circle even tighter.

If thats doing fairly well well I suppose we are.

Pretty bad for the future though

 

[The Large One]

You mean Lewes road the second main road leading into the city center

The plan back in 2010/2011 are not quite the same one the greens have bull dozed though .

You said 'driving around the city center'. Lewes Road starts at Elm Grove and heads north-east out of the city.

The plans from the original application meet the government's sustainable transport approval, or they would demand their money back. And, as was stated, all parties voted it through. How can the Greens 'bulldoze' anything through when they don't have the power to do so?

 

[The Large One]

I think if you spoke with many of those "thriving businesses" you will find they are not thriving many only last 1-2 years before going bust and closing down - Its true they get replaced.

The turnover of shop spaces is increasing - the number of commercial premises being developed in to housing is increasing.

North Laines is thriving due to visitors from outside Brighton, most brightonians don't "shop" there. In the recent bad weather most shops had a terrible time and if you saw how the streets emptied in the centre and North Laines when it rained you would see why.

A lot of the Brightonians who use North Laines seem to live in the Hanover Elm Grove area where they leave they cars parked for free all day while everyone else across has permits or meters. Funny that live 5/10 mins walk from the train station but can leave your car parked up all week for free?

Even the few Permits in that area seems to cover all the prime parking in Brighton including the Station but in Hove permits only seem to cover a few streets - funny that.

I said 'thriving shopping centre', though there are some businesses thriving enough to open second, third and fourth shops, but that's not my central point.

I disagree with your assertion of North Laine. It attracts residents and daytrippers alike and pretty much always busy - come rain or shine. To say it's only people who live in Hanover who visit there is clearly and evidently not true.

For my part, I live a mile and a half from North Laine, meet up with people who live all over the city, and regularly shop, eat, drink there. In fact, I'd go so far as to say I avoid Kensington Gardens not because of what it has to offer, but because it's a narrow thoroughfare of human blockage.

The reason Brighton has done well (relatively) is that we have a steady influx of people selling a £2M house in London and buying a £750K house in Brighton and spending £100k doing it up.

Some of them also buy another house or development and rent it out to provide an income, others set up a business in the hope they can stay here and not have to work back in London.

All that money filters to quite a few businesses across the city and then in to the council.

~Thats why it appears we are doing better than other parts.

On the downside - this is driving Brightonians out who can't compete to buy houses and flats and causing great diversity of wages.

Whilst house prices were always a problem A few years ago young people could always find a house/flat that was cheap enough and needed doing up and when they did it they could move forward from there. Now every property that has a development value is snapped up by outside developers or rich people to buy and let giving people on low wages no chance. This send the rents and property prices up making the circle even tighter.

If thats doing fairly well well I suppose we are.

Pretty bad for the future though

That's ONE aspect of how Brighton is going. It's a pretty long stretch to claim it's 'the' reason.

Not everyone who comes to Brighton is minted.

 

[c0lz]

You said 'driving around the city center'. Lewes Road starts at Elm Grove and heads north-east out of the city.

The plans from the original application meet the government's sustainable transport approval, or they would demand their money back. And, as was stated, all parties voted it through. How can the Greens 'bulldoze' anything through when they don't have the power to do so?

I Having a shop back then the plan's are not I repeat not the same outcome we have today.

 

[Max Paper]

Your original post said that the Greens had brought businesses 'to their knees' but the FACT is that Brighton and Hoves economy has stood up relatively well to the recession and only two weeks ago the Argus reported that the city is doing fairly well compared to other comparable towns and cities in the region - but don't let the truth get in the way of talking absolute shyte!
Unless you have real evidence of how the Greens policies have led to businesses being brought 'to their knees'?!
I wont be holding my breath!

I don't want to go into too much detail on a public forum as the people concerned are my family. I can assure you that after establishing the business nearly 40 years ago, the road and parking restrictions in place have almost crippled them. Let's say you want to buy something from a shop that's too big to put in your pocket or a bag. Let's say it's too big to take on the bus and the only way to buy it is to put it in your car and drive it home. If driving and parking is being made as difficult as it currently is then you are going to lose custom. Being put on a waiting list for a traders license (which you might not even be granted) to be able to do something like put a bit of your stock out on the forecourt to attract punters (something that the business has done for 40 years) I'm not making it up, I am told about it on a daily basis. If I am mistaken and the greens are not responsible for the recent road closures and redevelopment of this particular area then I hold my hands up. I do hear Jason Kitcats name crop up a hell of a lot though.

Great response.

When did I mention the city centre?

 

[£1.99]

Wouldn't you support the idea of discouraging cars from the city centre if it made it easier for tradesmen to park? Or discouraged single occupant Amex employees from driving in to work?

This makes sense

 

[Thunder Bolt]

However, the greens have done everything in their power to bring this City to it's knees with it's anti car policy's, they recently spend 10 million on Bus passes....surely people can apply for a bus pass instead of sending them out automatically? My grandparents both have 1 and they drive....surely that would save money?

Bus passes only cost something when they are actually used. The bus company claims something like 80p a journey when pinged on the reader.

 

[The Large One]

I don't want to go into too much detail on a public forum as the people concerned are my family. I can assure you that after establishing the business nearly 40 years ago, the road and parking restrictions in place have almost crippled them. Let's say you want to buy something from a shop that's too big to put in your pocket or a bag. Let's say it's too big to take on the bus and the only way to buy it is to put it in your car and drive it home. If driving and parking is being made as difficult as it currently is then you are going to lose custom. Being put on a waiting list for a traders license (which you might not even be granted) to be able to do something like put a bit of your stock out on the forecourt to attract punters (something that the business has done for 40 years) I'm not making it up, I am told about it on a daily basis. If I am mistaken and the greens are not responsible for the recent road closures and redevelopment of this particular area then I hold my hands up. I do hear Jason Kitcats name crop up a hell of a lot though.

When did I mention the city centre?

Your post came across as a general attack on all family-run businesses, city-wide, whereas your example seems to cite parking restrictions (of which your family's business appears to have been an unfortunate victim). I used the example of North Laine doing well to point out that that's evidently not the case.

Without knowing more, it's hard to know who is responsible. It's possible the Greens have some level of culpability (but they don't have overall power in the city and can be over-ruled at every single turn). Blaming one person - if that is what is required - though is easy scapegoating.

I can't stand the coalition government's attitude to the poor and vulnerable in society, but blaming David Cameron alone doesn't really have any meaning.

I hope the family business can survive.

 

[The Large One]

However, the greens have done everything in their power to bring this City to it's knees with it's anti car policy's, they recently spend 10 million on Bus passes....surely people can apply for a bus pass instead of sending them out automatically? My grandparents both have 1 and they drive....surely that would save money?

Parking charges are a joke, parking permits appear in random areas where it appears they're not needed, to pass parking permit areas, they need a majority vote, recently they pretty much approved parking permits with less than half of votes required.

The council are shocking and need removing

Is reducing the speed limit to 20mph really 'anti-car'? Is bringing in bus and cycle lanes (as actively promoted by the Tories) 'anti-car'? I mean... really?

Does this include the 80 or so other councils who have also brought in 20mph speed restrictions - none of whom are Green?

Aside from that, Brighton is doing OK. Parts of the city are being tarted up (e.g. London Road, finally), IT companies are moving in (seems to be a bit of a buzz around that particular commercial sector - I don't understand it myself), and the government has given the 'Greater Brighton' project the go ahead, providing £170m of investment.

Damn those knees.

 

[Chicken Runner61]

I said 'thriving shopping centre', though there are some businesses thriving enough to open second, third and fourth shops, but that's not my central point.

I disagree with your assertion of North Laine. It attracts residents and daytrippers alike and pretty much always busy - come rain or shine. To say it's only people who live in Hanover who visit there is clearly and evidently not true.

For my part, I live a mile and a half from North Laine, meet up with people who live all over the city, and regularly shop, eat, drink there. In fact, I'd go so far as to say I avoid Kensington Gardens not because of what it has to offer, but because it's a narrow thoroughfare of human blockage.




That's ONE aspect of how Brighton is going. It's a pretty long stretch to claim it's 'the' reason.

Not everyone who comes to Brighton is minted.

I said a lot of people from Hanover - I never said its only - thats a bit like me saying you must be minted if you shop eat and drink in North Laines.

I didn't have you down as a Top man Primark sort of guy but North Laines isn't where most people who live in Brighton shop.

If I had a quid for every small business that told me they were opening a second, third etc shop I would have retired by now. North Laines is full of shops that think they are doing well till it comes to pay the rent in the third year. Most of the businesses round there are owned by people who are on less than the minimum wage when you add up all the hours they do - they might be taking home £600 a week but they did 100 hours to earn it. Starting a second shop is three times harder than the first.

I grew up round that area I worked in K Gardens when bodyshop started its always been a busy area, its no busier now just different shops.

 

[Tom Hark Preston Park]

Let's cut to the chase shall we? In 21st century Brighton the private motorist should just fu*k right off to Crawley or something.