It is getting really hard to park in Wymondham town centre now and this is before all the new thousands of houses are built. I hope those that are organising the building of the new Morrisons Supermarket are going to have a parking arrangement in place like Sainsburys has with Attleborough town centre, where free parking is available to all shoppers. Something needs to be done in Wymondham for those who want to use the local shops for a few bits and pieces and not have to pay every time by using the Central Hall car park because there are no free places available elsewhere.
So, your complaint is the lack of free parking, not the lack of parking then.
My counter argument is why should i pay a greater amount of council tax to enable you to park in Wymondham for free, which is ultimately what it will come down to.
In my opinion, there are many more important things for our exceptionally hard pressed council to spend OUR money on than providing YOU with free parking so YOU are able to 'POP' into Wymondham to get a couple of bits. Not only is it a selfish attitude to take, but it is environmentally irresponsible to make many short trips. Consolidate your pop in trips into a proper shop, you will reduce your fuel costs, wear and tear on your car and also pollution.
If Morrissons are forced to provide free parking for your pop in trips, they will need a larger car park to accommodate the additional cars, which means more land will be consumed and the urban jungle will expand further. You start your comment with the mention of the additional houses being planned as being negative, i believe this is due to your objection to urban sprawl (although I am happy to concede that it is possible you hate new houses but love supermarkets) , yet you are perfectly happy for additional building as long as it suits you.
Breckland area has free car parking thoughout for everyone and a much fairer system. With your attitude I had better go and park and shop there instead and not bother with the local shops in Wymondham who can do without my custom, is that what you want? Parking in Wymondham was a nighmare yesterday also. My pop into Wymondham is a proper shop where I try and support local shop keepers. You make too many presumptions, and your advice is arrogant. I will decide where and when I will shop, it is up to Wymondham to provide proper and free parking for all shoppers and residents. Lets hope Morrisons recognises this.
Does this person live in the real world? I guess they can walk to the shops in Wymondham. Well, I don’t want to live in Wymondham and I have to drive to get to the shops. I pay my Council Tax AND I expect to be able to park easily and freely (like in Breckland) if I want to just pop in to the shops for only a single item or park and just enjoy the town. I don’t want my Council Tax paid on just minor improvements in Wymondham and Councillors inflated salaries and expenses. Wymondham used to be a nice place to shop, but now all you see are people struggling to parallel park or driving round and around trying to find a space. If this is development, it sucks. Free parking spaces in Morrisons are only good if you want to shop at Morrisons. It’s not Morrisons responsibility to provide parking for the Town anyway. Tell you what, why don’t we all park in Waitrose car park and walk into town. Would you be happy with that?
Slightly concerned that the first person to raise this topic made a completely authentic comment but it seems to have been misconstrued. Parking is difficult in Wymondham and it will become more so, inevitably with the increased population. Why does paying council tax always have to muddy the waters - a perfectly innocent observation was made here.
To be honest I never shop in Wymondham anymore because of the parking situation.
I would also like to point out that people are allowed to make comments on this board without fear of a personal attack as to their shopping habits......
Just in defense of others, no one's shopping habits have been questioned (apart from perhaps the amount of shopping done in any one trip), the general expectation that the general populous are expected to pay so that an individual can park for free, or failing that, a retailer can provide them with free parking. The concept of paying for what they consume totally not considered.
I have to say that I understand the frustration that things which used to be free are now not free, but that is the way things are going.
Who are you to question anyone on "the amount of shopping done in any one trip" when visiting Wymondham? ... unbelievable!!
The "general populous" pay for parking, so that the "general populous" HAS free parking. This does work in practice, for free car parking is available now throughout Breckland, including comparable market towns such as Watton and Attleborough. This free car parking policy for Breckland towns keeps those shopping areas alive and thriving and its a pleasure to park and shop there. You are mistaken in your observation that, "things which used to be free are now not free, but that is the way things are going", as these things are determined by policy and don't have to be that way. Breckland is a good example of this.
With all the new housing awaiting Wymondham, the town centre will be so congested with the lack of parking infrastructure that no one will want shop or visit there anyway. Lets hope the car park at Morrisons helps us out, as walking the distance from Spooner Row to Wymondham for any type of visit is not a luxury we have.
1. I am someone who does not want to pay for YOU to park for free. I am accept that I have to pay to pay to park because I understand that to provide a car park COSTS MONEY, MONEY which can be BETTER SPENT elsewhere. The world does not revolve around you. This is a policy which was not developed for the simple purpose of supporting YOUR shopping requirements, but for the benefit of the majority.
2. Houses will be built in Wymondham, because people will buy houses in Wymondham. Deal with it
3. If no one wants to shop in Wymondham, there will be LESS congestion, not more.
4. It is very generous of you to allow Morrisons to provide YOU with free parking so that YOU may shop in town. Would you be so kind to perhaps purchase a little item from them so they don't totally miss out on the deal. Perhaps you could ask them to provide you a little bus or golf buggy to cover the last of the journey to the shops?
5. If you disagree with policy, when election time comes round set yourself up with a polling booth and list your policies which I would suggest should include "Free parking at the expense of social/community services, No more houses apart from places i don't like/go to, Why is Spooner Row a Service Village and why don't you just go back to where you came from". If you win, then you are perfectly at liberty to change the policy
What is unbelievable is the attitude you seem to have where you fully expect the community to provide for you at the expense of others. Truly selfish. Because you wish to go to the shops, you require someone to provide the facilities for you to park, not considering that someone has to pay for them. Then, as soon as another person has the nerve to point out that the world was not built simply to support you, you accuse them of having a bad attitude, or rudeness. This is not bad attitude, this is having a view that there are other people in this community to consider, who's needs are far greater than your requirement to save £1 on parking when you wish to pop into town.
You are £1 out of pocket, but SNDC would be Thousands out of pocket to provide the service you feel you are entitled to! Those thousands could pay for play group, child care for disadvantaged people, or church groups, or conservation activities, or road improvements, those speed limit things or whatever else they buy, just so YOU CAN PARK FOR FREE WHEN YOU WANT TO POP INTO WYMONDHAM TO GET SOME BITS. Why not take your parking ticket to the town council office, or to Mr Halls to recover your POUND, i am sure they would be accommodating.
If you can't walk to town, and cannot afford to drive and park there when you do go, you have the option of either using that flexi bus, getting a lift or MOVING! (no, i don't care if those options do not fit into your obviously complex schedule or are not entirely convenient to you, if you want to save £1 then you need to be more flexible)
I say again, it is up to me where and when I shop and how much I buy.
You clearly disapprove that I have spoken out that I am fed up with the car parking congestion in Wymondham Town centre which will get worse with more houses, but I can assure you, I am not the only one by a long shot who thinks this. Breckland has a positive free car parking policy for EVERYONE so that local shop keepers are supported and I hope the new Morrisons has a free parking arrangement like Sainsburys does in Attleborough.
Why are you ranting and raging on about Elections, golf buggies, Spooner Row Service Village, accusing me of rudeness and selfishness, speed limits, SNDC, church groups, telling me to move and Mr Halls (are you annoyed that a Spooner Row person won the by-election?) etc... Are you a member or supporter of the unpopular part of Wymondham Town Council that didn't win? I also take exception to you saying, "why don't you just go back to where you came from".
Why is this so difficult? This obviously has to be put in a very simple way so that you can understand, so here goes
No one cares where you shop, what you buy or how long you spend in the location you choose to go to.
It is your right to choose what you do with your time and money
Your original post pointed to the lack of free car parking in Wymondham, and that you hoped that a new commercial venture to the town (Morrisons) would provide you with a new source of free parking. You also pointed to the new houses being built in town probably reducing the number of free parking spaces for you to use, and that other town councils provide free parking. You also go on to mention that there is parking available to you, but you are expected to pay for this, and this is not something you appear to be keen on, as you seem to feel that someone else should provide this service for you at their expense (Morrisons or WTC or SNDC)
The only point I am trying to make which you are very skilfully avoiding is:
There is parking available in town, it is just not available for free (it is not very expensive though, I estimate, although for the purpose of this post cannot verify that it is perhaps £1 or £2 for the morning)
If the council provides parking for free it ultimately has to be paid for by someone (rent/maintenance/purchase etc.) The overall cost is many tens of thousands of pounds for the year (again I am estimating this cost)
I believe that there are more important things the council can spend their limited resources on than providing you with free parking. As you rightly point out, there is congestion in Wymondham even without free parking, which obviously means most people are prepared to pay for parking when they go there, otherwise it would be empty.
We all have to pay your own way, especially in the current economic climate, and should not expect the community or commercial interests to pick up the bill for you exercising your right to choose.
That is all, it is not a personal attack on your shopping habits, not an invasion on your democratic or human right to choose what you do, just another point of view.
I think it is you who needs to understand that I and others are allowed to make comments, observations and points of view without YOU making personal attacks on shopping and parking in Wymondham and without you saying things like, "why don't you just go back to where you came from". You have made too many presumptions are patronising and yes your attitude is aggressive. If you can't be civil and polite then I suggest you don't bother forcing your intolerant views on others.
Nothing you say above detracts from Breckland's free parking throughout as being both popular and successful and I agree with this. To be clear, I pay MY MONEY into the expensive local taxes and do not expect free handouts or expect YOU and others to pay for me, an accusation you keep repeating.
1. the comment you keep repeating was an example of a policy for your mock political campaign, not an actual suggestion. I do understand why that is too complicated for you to understand. May I suggest that you re read the whole comment. It is the same comment where other suggestions included free parking at the expense of the local community, but you don't seem too upset by that comment?
2. Just because I disagree with you, doesn't make me rude or impolite
3. You say you don't expect us to pay for you and in the next section repeat how popular the Breckland scheme is, and point out it is popular because it is paid for by the council. The suggestion being that SNDC should pay for a similar scheme. we all pay into the council, if they adopt your suggestion, we would have to pay more, or other services would have to be reduced. Therefore you want a scheme which would cost all of us money to enable you to park for free. This is not a personal attack on your shopping preferences, but it is simple economics.
4. These views are only intolerant of the selfish attitude I consider you to display. I have no issue with your right and ability to make comments or to air your views, but you also have to respect my right to challenge those views in the same forum.
We (or rather you) are just going round in circles here. Your paragraph 3 says that if we have free parking, other services will be reduced, well no change there for Spooner Row's already reduced services! What I am intrigued about is that you say I keep repeating an example of a policy from my mock political campaign. Exactly what mock political campaign is this? I don't ever recall myself as having a political campaign. I guess you are referring to the recent local by-election and have made another incorrect presumption and think that I am Mr Halls?... Oh how very wrong you are! I suppose you are a member of the dwindling unpopular opposition. I did wonder why you have been so persistent in trying to quash my comments on Wymondham's parking problems. Mr Hall has my sympathy if this is a taste of what he is going to have to put up with.
I've had a think on your very dubious and rude comment of, "why don't you just go back to where you came from". As a local tax payer, resident and voter, I think I have every right to stay put.
In the meantime, Wymondham's car parking congestion remains a nightmare and will get progressively worse with all the thousands of new houses yet to be built and no amount of ranting, raging and pontificating by you will stop me voicing my opinion!
....... and adding to my comments above, all residents and visitors to Breckland are aware that it is Breckland Council's policy to provide free parking. It is no secret.
As I have been apparently, blamed for some of the comments , may I please advise whoever that until now I have not made any comments on this issue.
Going back to the original question, a quick look on the Morrison web site advises on their Policy in this regard, which to save people time is that 'it depends'. However I would be surprised if the new Store in Wymondham operate a free parking Policy all day.
However they might restrict it to shoppers at Morrisons with a set a time limit of some sort and set up some rudimentary enforcement of a kind to ensure compliance, which is what they do at Riverside and mirrors other town centre Supermarkets in Attleborough.
Accordingly, therefore if you can get a few bits from Morrisons and have enough time to get what you want elsewhere then so be it.
