Join our campaign to keep Newport parking free (From South Wales Argus)

This is a good idea, I hope someone with a bit of authority picks up on it as the decision to stop the free parking is such a bad one. Nice work, Argus!

Who cares if the parking is free or not?? Half of the people who swagger into Newport are on benefits and walk in to town over the new bridge, with about 400 kids in tow.

Another point, why would anyone want to drive to Newport to do shopping?? Unless you want to spend all your money in the Pound shops or course? But if you want some quality items, or don't want to be over run with Immigrants, beggers, and chavs on bikes, spitting and shouting on mobile phones, my advice is to take the short drive to Bath. What a delightful place it is too.................
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rhinestine wrote:
Who cares if the parking is free or not?? Half of the people who swagger into Newport are on benefits and walk in to town over the new bridge, with about 400 kids in tow.

Another point, why would anyone want to drive to Newport to do shopping?? Unless you want to spend all your money in the Pound shops or course? But if you want some quality items, or don't want to be over run with Immigrants, beggers, and chavs on bikes, spitting and shouting on mobile phones, my advice is to take the short drive to Bath. What a delightful place it is too.................

........

A bit harsh, though i understand your point. I'm not a big fan of Cwmbran but they do 'police' the mall very well.

However, your not really comparing like for like. The tourists bring the wealth to Bath centre and its a day trip for most people by the time you negotiate the M4 and Bath congestion, pay the fuel, toll and a lot more than £1 parking if you can even find a space. Having been assaulted by a druggie tramp in Bath centre it has some problems too - close to the nice buildings in the centre there's rough areas of Bath and plenty of chavs.

We are co-ordinating with the argus by running the facebook campaign and any public meetings etc...

PLease join us at http://www.facebook.
com/KeepNewportsFree
Parking

NakedDancer wrote:

rhinestine wrote:
Who cares if the parking is free or not?? Half of the people who swagger into Newport are on benefits and walk in to town over the new bridge, with about 400 kids in tow.

Another point, why would anyone want to drive to Newport to do shopping?? Unless you want to spend all your money in the Pound shops or course? But if you want some quality items, or don't want to be over run with Immigrants, beggers, and chavs on bikes, spitting and shouting on mobile phones, my advice is to take the short drive to Bath. What a delightful place it is too.................


........

A bit harsh, though i understand your point. I'm not a big fan of Cwmbran but they do 'police' the mall very well.

However, your not really comparing like for like. The tourists bring the wealth to Bath centre and its a day trip for most people by the time you negotiate the M4 and Bath congestion, pay the fuel, toll and a lot more than £1 parking if you can even find a space. Having been assaulted by a druggie tramp in Bath centre it has some problems too - close to the nice buildings in the centre there's rough areas of Bath and plenty of chavs.

Yes, you have a point. I guess you got bad elements where ever you go these days.

So once again a discussion about the future direction and prospects of Newport city centre is hijacked by the ongoing anti-chav rant, part 467.

I give up.

Yes I agree heresphil. Let's concentrate on the issue and not get sidetracked yet again with god awful negativity all the time. There are problems, that is obvious and the policing aspect at Cwmbran is well made. I applaud any constructive efforts to get things going in the right direction.

LSB Bee wrote:
Yes I agree heresphil. Let's concentrate on the issue and not get sidetracked yet again with god awful negativity all the time. There are problems, that is obvious and the policing aspect at Cwmbran is well made. I applaud any constructive efforts to get things going in the right direction.

Funny!! There is a saying "don't treat the symptoms, treat the course"

The fact that no one frequents Newport is beacuse of the chavs, immigrants, beggers, etc.........

Go back some 15 years and re-call what newport was then, here is a video to remind you.......

http://www.youtube.c
om/watch?v=5hg_X7-FN
2c

and another video to remind you of what it is now..........http://
www.youtube.com/watc
h?v=OXEfCpqkoMA&feat
ure=fvst

Typical Labour. They cant live with the fact that the last council put this in place so just to be spiteful they remove it.
Well, that will teach all of you a lesson who voted labour at the council elections.Some people cant see beyond the colour of the rossette

I applaud the Argus for doing something constructive and bringing the council to account for these decisions - I'm not sure what the council is trying to achieve - do they even know? - on the one hand they talk about the new development and on the other they take steps to completely kill off the centre as it stands at the moment. I accept money is tight and free parking is lost revenue, however, something needs to be done to attract people in - I don't mind paying for parking when there is something worth seeing and Newport centre is not worth my time or effort at the moment. We need more of this from the Argus - how else are the cllrs going to hear what the residents have to say - there doesn't appear to be any channel for challenge - the council doesn't act on what is posted here, clearly. I'm just off to sign the petition.....

Nice work Argus. Appreciate you not giving up on our beautiful 'Port.

Abraham Lincoln said it best: "“He has a right to criticize, he who has a heart to help.”

Ther is no such thing as "free" parking - the car parks have to be paid for, maintained etc. The question should be "Are you prepared to pay more Council Tax to subsidise parking?" - I for one am not.

old art wrote:
Ther is no such thing as "free" parking - the car parks have to be paid for, maintained etc. The question should be "Are you prepared to pay more Council Tax to subsidise parking?" - I for one am not.

Agreed these people will be the first to complain when their Council tax goes up or the Council makes cuts elsewhere to fund 2 hours of Free car parking.. Seeing the Cambrian is allegedly becoming a private car park for Admiral Staff it makes no sense!!

Beaker been unusually quiet on the personnel insult front!!

There are no big name shops in newport to attract shoppers there all in Spytty so when Mark's, Claire's, River Island, Jefferies and the Passport Office leave next year who or what can the Council blame next... Bobby Bright maybe?

So what services would you cut instead? The state of LA finances is such that something has to give. Get real. £1 charge Is irrelevant. Councils have to change to survive. For gods sake Argus stop being hypocrites. When you put up the cost of your paper by 5p due to increased costs we had to carry on and suffer it. 30p per hour is peanuts.

It's the state of the centre that makes it hard not a £1 parking ticket.

What a blame culture !

Frankly I don't know which disgusts me more, the shameless and moronic scare-mongering of this article or the comments by the pond life who have signed this petition. Which vulnerable people do you want to lose their services because you are too tight to pay a pound to park? Absolutely vile attitudes.

The High St was dead the minute the internet was invented and free parking is an irrelevance to that fact. I sincerely hope that Newport Council shoot down the 'economic' non-argument for subsidising free parking in the city and stick to spending the money on those statutory functions on which many people in the city depend

A pound! Tight gets the lot of you. You'd think you'd be glad of all the pound shops.

Someone made a comparison to the City of Bath - would be best advised to use park & ride run up to Christmas £3.00, City Centre car parks do accept credit cards.

Not sure what (if any) difference the free parking will make - a "shopping centre" needs shops to encourage more people to visit. Cwmbran, Cardiff, Bristol all have this - a nice wide variety of shops. What do we have? Not a lot. No wonder people are shopping in the other places, if the bus fare to Cwmbran was cheaper I would too!

I don't agree with free parking anywhere, but after being splashed by idiots (yes, plural!) last week whilst walking my children home to and from school I have no sympathy for any drivers!!

Regionalist wrote:
Frankly I don't know which disgusts me more, the shameless and moronic scare-mongering of this article or the comments by the pond life who have signed this petition. Which vulnerable people do you want to lose their services because you are too tight to pay a pound to park? Absolutely vile attitudes.

The High St was dead the minute the internet was invented and free parking is an irrelevance to that fact. I sincerely hope that Newport Council shoot down the 'economic' non-argument for subsidising free parking in the city and stick to spending the money on those statutory functions on which many people in the city depend

A pound! Tight gets the lot of you. You'd think you'd be glad of all the pound shops.

I think yuo'll find that out of town shopping centres killed with their FREE PARKING killed off the town centre long before the internet. The internet can be a benefit to the town if you can order on-line and pick up in store.

No one is suggesting that free parking is some magic fix to all the problems that the city centre has. What we do know is that footfall had been on the increase ever since free parking was introduced.

Regionalist wrote:
Frankly I don't know which disgusts me more, the shameless and moronic scare-mongering of this article or the comments by the pond life who have signed this petition. Which vulnerable people do you want to lose their services because you are too tight to pay a pound to park? Absolutely vile attitudes. The High St was dead the minute the internet was invented and free parking is an irrelevance to that fact. I sincerely hope that Newport Council shoot down the 'economic' non-argument for subsidising free parking in the city and stick to spending the money on those statutory functions on which many people in the city depend A pound! Tight gets the lot of you. You'd think you'd be glad of all the pound shops.

Killed by the party that you support. Labour. It is they who have destroyed the city. Well done Argus. Keep it up. The socialists hate being challenged they think they have the right to run and ruin everything.

WHY DO PEOLE FEEL ENTITLED TO HAVE EVERYTHING FOR FREE? GO TO SPYTTY OR CWMBRAN. ONE POUND TO PARK FOR 3 HOURS IS A GOOD DEAL. I BET MOST OF THE PEOPLE WHO COMPLAIN ON HERE DON'T EVEN SHOP IN NEWPORT MARKET OR BUY FROM NEWPORT OWNED SHOPS.

Free parking does not 'cost' the Council 850,000 pounds a year (or the one million it has now become) at all. This is a phantom projection of lost income, based on probable best-day figures of gross number of vehicles using NCC parking spaces over a given time. The true cost of free parking is probably lower than the cost of paid parking, since fixed costs (maintenance, lighting, personnel, etc.) remain the same, except that it takes fewer man hours to count the coins from the ticket machine!

Pithy argument aside, while I appreciate free parking I would not mind paying a reasonable sum for a quality service to enhance my visit to a quality town centre (sorry, I can't equate Newport with elite city status): wider parking bays I could comfortably use without finding my car doors scratched and dented on my return; ramps and barrier exits we could more easily navigate without scuffing bumpers and wheel trims; stairways that were well lit and did not smell of urine, vomit and alcohol; entrances that were not mobbed by street traders hawking magazines.

We have read of the forthcoming loss of the Cambrian Road multi-story car park and that of the St Luke's facility to Admiral. What now follows is simple supply and demand... as parking spaces in the town centre decline in number, parking fees will rise and those that want to pay will pay; those that don't won't. Sadly, as highlighted in many other reader contributions, I have less and less need to actually go to the town centre.

You can still park in Newport right now for free even though the SW Argus seems to suggest that free parking in Newport has been abolished already.

old art wrote:
Ther is no such thing as "free" parking - the car parks have to be paid for, maintained etc. The question should be "Are you prepared to pay more Council Tax to subsidise parking?" - I for one am not.

But im sure you "old art "probably use Spytty or Supermarket carparks? which are free? they have to be paid for too, which is added onto the costs of the goods we buy in such establishments, but it is so low and shared by ALL that use that makes it a FAIR parking charge.

Newport City parking costs are simply not fair, when the council sets free parking bays for its staff and makes those who work and shop in the centre pay, something YOU might consider fair , I and many others Do Not.

Those who say we are tight by not paying a Pound are the same deluded people who are helping the City/Town fail... they obviously do not own a business in a town centre to understand how it this affects business. But they are the same deluded people who moan when retailers move to Out of Town sites. They do that as they have a financial interest in their business and a duty of care to the staff they employ.

Has the council thought about working with retailers, who can offer refunds on parking tickets if you spend ££ a set figure instore, NO... NCC has no foresight, I say it time and time again.

I just wonder what the Master Plan is... keep making traders leave for what? have you got plans for the centre your not sharing with the Public?

I lost faith in this council a long time ago, no matter which political party is running it, when they sold off all the council houses and the money went ? where? Not here where it was needed. Newport is an experiment, How long can you push a city until it breaks...

Sad thing is, I suspect a few councillors/council staff do come on here with odd usernames and try and ply their political views to deter us from looking in the right direction.

Its the traders and staff they employ that matter the most and these are those that the council Ignore the Most.

Lliswerry Man wrote:

old art wrote:
Ther is no such thing as "free" parking - the car parks have to be paid for, maintained etc. The question should be "Are you prepared to pay more Council Tax to subsidise parking?" - I for one am not.

But im sure you "old art "probably use Spytty or Supermarket carparks? which are free? they have to be paid for too, which is added onto the costs of the goods we buy in such establishments, but it is so low and shared by ALL that use that makes it a FAIR parking charge.

Newport City parking costs are simply not fair, when the council sets free parking bays for its staff and makes those who work and shop in the centre pay, something YOU might consider fair , I and many others Do Not.

Those who say we are tight by not paying a Pound are the same deluded people who are helping the City/Town fail... they obviously do not own a business in a town centre to understand how it this affects business. But they are the same deluded people who moan when retailers move to Out of Town sites. They do that as they have a financial interest in their business and a duty of care to the staff they employ.

Has the council thought about working with retailers, who can offer refunds on parking tickets if you spend ££ a set figure instore, NO... NCC has no foresight, I say it time and time again.

I just wonder what the Master Plan is... keep making traders leave for what? have you got plans for the centre your not sharing with the Public?

I lost faith in this council a long time ago, no matter which political party is running it, when they sold off all the council houses and the money went ? where? Not here where it was needed. Newport is an experiment, How long can you push a city until it breaks...

Sad thing is, I suspect a few councillors/council staff do come on here with odd usernames and try and ply their political views to deter us from looking in the right direction.

Its the traders and staff they employ that matter the most and these are those that the council Ignore the Most.

'Sad thing is, I suspect a few councillors/council staff do come on here with odd usernames and try and ply their political views to deter us from looking in the right direction'.


Whilst I agree with a lot of your post I don't see why employees/staff of the Council would come on here to 'ply their political views' after all they are just that, employees and I expect a lot of them never voted for this council.

pinpong wrote:

Regionalist wrote: Frankly I don't know which disgusts me more, the shameless and moronic scare-mongering of this article or the comments by the pond life who have signed this petition. Which vulnerable people do you want to lose their services because you are too tight to pay a pound to park? Absolutely vile attitudes. The High St was dead the minute the internet was invented and free parking is an irrelevance to that fact. I sincerely hope that Newport Council shoot down the 'economic' non-argument for subsidising free parking in the city and stick to spending the money on those statutory functions on which many people in the city depend A pound! Tight gets the lot of you. You'd think you'd be glad of all the pound shops.

Killed by the party that you support. Labour. It is they who have destroyed the city. Well done Argus. Keep it up. The socialists hate being challenged they think they have the right to run and ruin everything.

So, because I happen to think keeping little old ladies warm in their homes, or providing a decent education for kids (you know, something that will actually have a long-term economic benefit to the city), is more important than subsidising an obsolete business model that has gone the way of the dinosaur whether you clowns can park your car for free or not, that makes me a commie, does it?

No, it makes you a moron.