Appendix 2                                                                                          Off-Street Tariff Increase

Objection 6

(inc Lockmeadow 4)

Support 1

 

 

Support

1

I would like to formally support the proposal which I believe will improve the park and ride service.

 

 

 

Objections

1

 

It’s been brought to our attention that the council are seeking to raise car park charges. As per the car park agreement in place between MBC and my client, clause 5 states ‘The Headlessee and the Car Park Manager shall endeavour to agree a charging regime’.  Therefore we must be consulted before a raise is considered. Having reviewed the increases we are ultimately against them as we can’t see any reason for them.  If site costs were set to increase we can understand, however, this year’s budget is set to decrease, head rent has no increases either.  Therefore to implement a higher charging regime we cannot justify.  Further to this, with the current regime in place we already have complaints from tenants, prospective tenants and customers of Lockmeadow. I have entered discussions to review the management agreement in place with Jeff Kitson, as part of this review I hope to tackle car parking charges in a manner beneficial to all without raising the costs.

2

I would like to object to the above Variation Order, the proposal to increase parking charges.  The proposal would increase the tariff I incur by 26%. I would be interested to see published, the justification for this 26& increase when the UK inflation rate is at 3%.

It is to be noted in April 2017, the charges were increased by 17%.  With this Variation Order there will be an increase of 43% in the past 2 years.  That doesn’t align with the UK inflation rate over the same period being no more than 6%.

As a user of the Barker Road car park I would be interested to see published the benefits expected from this higher than inflation increase.  You will recall I made contact regarding numerous faulty street lights, and imagine the majority of similar notifications are via members of the public.  I note it has been suggested asking enforcement teams to monitor lighting but currently that is not the case.  I do often see cleaning operatives at this location.  However, isn’t street lighting and rubbish collection a cost covered by my Council Tax?

Finally, it is to be noted, Maidstone residents are likely to incur a 5% Council Tax increase, of which 3% is for MBC services.

3

The Borough Councils proposal to make changes to the current of street parking places order including changes to car parking fees.

The Parish Council considered this at its meeting on 5th March and made the following comment:

It was felt that the proposed increase in parking fees, for any stay over one hour, would have a detrimental impact on the businesses in the Town Centre as shoppers would opt to go out of town shopping areas where there is free parking.  It was considered that the decrease in fees for less than one hours stay would be of no real benefit to shoppers. Residents in the north of Boxley Parish already gravitate towards Hempstead Valley Shopping Centre where there is free parking and towards the Medway Towns where there is now going to be considerably cheaper car parking charges. Should MBC go ahead with the proposed fee changes, it is suggested that figures are rounded down to 10 pence amounts as people are less likely to have 5 pence pieces to use in the machines.

4

 

With reference to the above I am writing to object to the proposed revised car park tariffs for the Lockmeadow car park, particularly as I was informed by the Market Manager, Mr Jeff Robinson, that no such increases would apply to this car park.

As longstanding regular users of the Market Hall for our weekly produce market held on a Tuesday and our fortnightly auctions of antique and modern furniture and collectables held on a Thursday, we draw a large number of customers to Lockmeadow, the majority of whom need to park their car.  Whilst come may see the proposed increase in the hourly rate from £1.00 to £1.10 (i.e. 10%) as acceptable, those who require to stay for any longer than an hour and up to 3 hours will be expected to pay £3.30, an increase of 80 pence over the current charge equating to a massive 32% rise.  Given that the published rate of inflation is less than 4% such a large increase is most unfair in any circumstance.

Customers visiting the Tuesday stall market and our weekly produce and plant market are naturally price conscious and will certainly notice any proposed increase especially when so many other retail outlets offer free parking to their customers.  The market needs to attract more customers; the continual rise in parking costs will have the opposite effect.

On our Thursday auctions our customers help to fill an otherwise empty car park.  Overall any increase may well be found to be self-defeating for the Council revenues as people will tend to spend less time in the Market or Auction with consequential financial implications for our business as well.  In general, we need to be attracting people to Maidstone for business and leisure purposes not frightening them off.

Please confirm receipt of this correspondence, I trust you will take my comments into consideration when making a decision and I look forward to your early reply.

5

 

Re the proposed increase in car parking charges in Lockmeadow Market.  I run the café in the market and strongly object to increase in car parking charges because this will affect my customers (a lot who are elderly) in coming to the market on Tuesdays and Saturdays and consequently will affect my business which I am struggling to run the business.  The market is already being run down because of all the other increases in other charges and driving people away. If I become bankrupt because of your no running of the market properly or encouraging people there and the stallholders in, you will have to compensate me for loss of business.

 

6

 

I am writing to you in objection to the Borough of Maidstone (Off-Street Parking Places) (Variation No. 10) Order 2018 on behalf of all stallholders trading at Maidstone Market and Market Hall at Lockmeadow.

We are deeply concerned by the proposed increases to parking charges that are due to take place, especially those at the Lockmeadow car parks.  As such we must strongly object to the aforementioned increases.

As you are aware it is currently a particularly unfavourable climate for the entire retail sector but especially for SMEs and independent sole traders and partnerships.  At a time when inflation is outpacing wage growth; the challenges of leaving the European Union have weighed on consumer sentiment and increased the wholesale cost of much, perhaps most, of the goods which we sell; and the rise of online shopping continues to present difficulties to traditional forms of retail; we believe that the planned parking charge increases are yet another impediment to our businesses.   One we fear is quite possibly a breaking point.

It is not an exaggeration to say that we feel this issue could become an existential threat, not just to individual businesses who trade at the market, but to the market as a whole.  As traders at Maidstone market for over 10 years, it has been obvious to us that an increase in parking charges has correlated directly with a reduction in visitor footfall at the market and thus a reduction in potential customers.  Due to the inhospitable trading environment currently faced, many stallholders are already struggling to preserve the sustainability of their businesses.  Thus, it does not take a huge jump in deductive reasoning to envision a situation where, a decrease in customer activity would lead to a number of traders finding their business no longer profitable.  Therefore by implication, at a time when the market itself is far from at maximum occupancy, it is clear that the loss of only a small number of traders would, in effect, bring the viability of the market itself into question.

In short, the increases in parking charges create a real and present threat to the continued existence of the market and to the livelihoods of its traders.

The proposed increases are remarkably galling, as they come during a period when Maidstone has; a council in which the Conservative party comprises the largest group of councillors (jointly with the Liberal Democrats), a Conservative Mayor and a Conservative MP, whilst at the same time the UK has a Conservative government and Prime Minister.  We are repeatedly told that the Conservative party is both supportive of business and of local communities.  We are also told that the Conservatives are delivering a strong economy.  With that in mind then, why is there a need to increase parking charges?  Charges that will both hinder local businesses as well as inconvenience and upset the local community.  If the economy is doing well, why is the government not providing adequate funding to local government authorities?  Authorities, who in turn, could surely generate revenues in less damaging ways; if the need for such revenues exist.  A need which should not exist if, as according to the government, the economy is doing well.  A strong economy should surely lead to increased local government funding?  Is the local government to blame or the national one?

Maidstone Borough Council and by association its Parking Services Management must decide if Maidstone Market is an amenity it values and wishes to continue to provide to the local community.  This is because the planned parking charge increases could well herald its death knell.  When considering this though, we would ask you to take into account not only the markets resident businesses, which would inevitably suffer, but also our customers.

For many of our customers, the market is an essential part of their life, providing their only point of social contact in the community.  Without the market they would quite literally be shut off from society completely, at home, alone.  For some disabilities mean that the market is their most practical and easily accessible shopping and social destination.  Whilst for others, on fixed or low incomes, it is not an overstatement to say that they reply on the market for their very existence.  If not for the staples they can purchase from us at low prices they would likely have to reply on food banks and other charity to survive.  Others slightly less unfortunate are only able to afford what few meagre luxuries they have because of the market and its traders.

With that in mind, I again wish to object to the planned increases and urge the Parking Services Manager and the Borough Council to rethink and reverse this decision.  If the increases go ahead, be in no doubt, both the stallholders and Maidstone Market and our customers will remember this decision and campaign and vote accordingly at the May local elections and the next general election, whenever it occurs.

 


Appendix 2                                                                                        Park and Ride

Objection 5

Support 0

 

 

Objections

 

1

Objection to the P&R flat rate car park charge of £2.50.

Objection to the median level increase of car park charges at King Street and Wheeler and Brewer Street, which represent a respective increase of 50% and 30%.

Park and Ride: The stated intention is to charge a flat rate of £2.50 per vehicle, with bus tickets for up to 5 persons.

The P&R bus is an eligible service under the Transport Act 1958 and 2000. Section 145A of the Concessionary Bus Travel Act 2007 subsection (1) provides:- any person to whom a current statutory travel concession permit has been issued and who travels on an eligible journey on an eligible service is entitled on production of the permit to a concession consisting of a waiver of the fare for the journey by the operator of the service.

In the result this waiver will be denied to an eligible person.

Accordingly, there is a discrimination against and eligible person within 3 (1) (a) (ii) for elderly persons or disabled persons.

It is noted that the Equality Act 2010, s.149 provides: - (1) A public authority must, in the exercise of its function, have due regard to the need to ……. (b) advance equality of opportunity between persons who share a relevant protected characteristic and persons who do not share it.

This section defines the Public Sector Equality Duty (PSED).  This is a duty for public bodies to have a due regard to the need to consider and apply fairness and equality in carrying out their functions, especially in making decisions or policies.

The Equality Impact Assessment, at Appendix 5 states: - 61.6% of users use an Older Persons Bus Pass. A pay to park tariff will affect all users currently using a pass to travel.  However, the purpose of the P&R service is to improve air quality by alleviating the volume of traffic travelling into the town centre.  Holders of the pass will still be able to travel into the centre free of charge using another bus service.

Comment:-

  1. The greatest number of users and income for P&R come from concessions.
  2. To state that they will still be able to travel using another bus service does not meet s.149 (1) (b).
  3. Further it is contrary to policy DM24 and ‘Bus Priority measures will be provided in order to encourage the use of public transport by seeking to ensure the reliability and frequency of services will continue to be made more accessible to users’
  4. This concession is important for the P&R acts as a hub service for the non-urban community, which has lost many of the local services (i.e. banking) and are forced to travel to Maidstone town centre.
  5. Finally it is inimical to ‘model shift’, which was a main tenet of the Maidstone Local Plan.

Summary conclusion:- This PSED has not been satisfactorily applied in the instant case.  Accordingly there is AGE discrimination under the Equality Act 2010. Increase of town centre car parking charges.  The specimen revised charges represent an increase of 50% and 30% respectively.  This is excessive. The Equality Act 2010 places a general duty upon the public sector.  In the exercise of its functions, a public authority must have due regard to the need to: foster good relations between people who share a relevant protected characteristic and people who do not.

There is an expansion in town centre accommodation for the elderly.   Town centre car parks are used by relatives and friends when visiting such persons.  A disproportionate rise in car parking charges do not positively contribute to the advancement of equality and good relations.

On these grounds, I object to the proposed Order.

2

I am writing to object to the proposed car park tariff for Willington Street Park & Ride.

We are retired and regularly use the service to get into Maidstone using my bus pass.  I have tried using the Arriva bus service from Headcorn but find this unreliable especially the return service on a Saturday.

The Park & Ride saves me from adding to the town centre congestion and cuts down on car pollution from the exhaust.  Multiply that by hundreds of cars, I thought environment issues were a priority of local and central government.

3

I am writing to register my objection to proposed order 2018 to introduce a £2.50 parking fee at the Willington Street Park and Ride.

I use this service frequently using my free bus pass (for which I am grateful) but in the event of a £2.50 charge for parking my car (perhaps for only one hour in most cases) I shall no longer use the Park & Ride service as it will be cheaper to take my car into Maidstone to park in town.

I am a widow and pensioner and can no longer walk any distance without pain and the Park & Ride service stopped at very convenient points in town. I think that many pensioners and other people, who also have to pay the fare on the Park & Ride, will do the same making Maidstone even more congested. May I suggest that on showing a free bus pass, which is not transferrable, we might be exempt from the car park charge perhaps between the hours of 10am – 3pm?

4

I am writing to oppose the changes to the Park & Ride services – charging for parking.  Due to the P&R being in a residential area I walk to the park leaving extra room for more cars to park. Other residents also walk in for this bus, buying a 10 single trip ticket £10.30).

I have been told that it is not known whether there will be a barrier for cars to collect a ticket and pay via machine or if you will pay on the bus.  I have no objections to paying the £2.50 charge if I am still able to use this service as a pedestrian.  I do believe we are unable to use this service you will lose a lot of revenue.

I have used the P&R service daily to get to work ever since it began.  I am unable to catch the number 9 even though it would be cheaper as I buy a 4 weekly Maidstone ticket because the times are not suitable for my connecting bus to Kings Hill.

There is not an early bus which I can catch which will mean walking through Mote Park to make sure I arrive in time for my next bus.

5

Please note that the comments below refer only to the Willington Street and London Road Proposals.

 

It is clear from the Council’s January decision regarding the Park and Ride service that, sadly, there is a will on the parts of Council officers and/or members for the Park and Ride service to fail. The introduction of ‘pay to park’ using ticket machines at each site instead of the current arrangement of cash fares being paid to the bus driver, seriously affects the viability of running buses on a commercial basis to serve the Park and Ride sites, as revenue would in future accrue to the machine operator (i.e. the Council) and not to the bus operator.  Such a proposal is also likely to adversely affect ridership in off-peak periods (and in turn damage trade in Maidstone) as those with English National Concessionary Passes who currently park and travel at no charge will in future have to pay for parking.  Once such business is lost, the likelihood of regaining such patronage is likely to be extremely low.  Overall revenue at peak times, when all users pay individually to travel, is also likely to reduce as multiple users in a single vehicle would in future only pay one parking fee rather than a separate fare for each rider.

Changing the method of charging the user for Park and Ride by installing ticket machines at the car parks must be resisted as this will severely reduce options for the future and minimise the likelihood of the Park and Ride bus service ever being considered in the future as a commercial proposition.

 

 

 

Comment

 

1

I am concerned about the proposals for change with the Park and Ride scheme. I use the P&R at Willington St several times a week as a pedestrian. Can I still use the bus in the normal way when car parking charges are introduced? Will I still be able to use my bus pass and not incur a £2.50 charge? More details of this scheme are required as many elderly friends of mine are very concerned about it. Can you give me the details in full so I can spread the correct word? If you have to pay £2.50 to park then you might as well use the other buses.

2

I wish to know what changes are to be made to Willington Street Park and Ride scheme. I have heard that charges are to be made for parking and have you considered the displacement effect this will have on surrounding streets? 

Thank you very much for prompt reply. I am in wholehearted agreement with the changes. I do, however wish to clarify the following.

First, will travelling on the Park and Ride bus be solely on production of a valid ticket to park at the facility and as such parking elsewhere will be pointless as a £2.50 parking ticket will be required? That is to say, bluntly, surrounding roads will not become choked with parked vehicles avoiding the parking charge and riding the bus for free? Second, I frequently walk to the Park and Ride as it is only a few minutes away. Will I be able to purchase a ticket of any sort?

3

We were given a leaflet on the bus last week giving some details about new proposals. We are in our seventies and live near the park and ride. We do not park in the car park but use the bus with our bus passes. We have used this bus for twenty years without parking a car. My husband is classed as disabled and to walk down to the main road to catch a bus is a real struggle. Will we be able to use the new service without parking a car and use our bus pass?

4

They do not agree with the changes to park and ride. Mrs Bowles doesn’t drive and has a disabled daughter and regularly uses the park and ride bus and is angry that she won’t be able to use it anymore. Her daughter has brain damage and knows all of the drivers and the change will be distressing for her. The number 9 bus is further away and doesn’t have a bus shelter. Mrs Bowles will be forced to push her daughters’ wheelchair further in order to catch the bus into town.  They know they aren’t the only ones that will be affected by this change.

What does this mean for their existing bus passes will they still be able to use them?

5

503 P&R - parking fees of possibly £2.50 per car. What allowances will be in play for people on their own and "car-sharing" isn't an option. The scheme seems to be in favour of people travelling together in one car. Also, will the OAP bus pass still be used??

Many thanks for replying so promptly and with such helpful information. My only slight query is when travelling and showing the parking ticket to the driver on the P&R – how will the Civil Enforcement Officers know which cars are parked with the fee having been paid and which are parked without the fee being paid, if the ticket is with the passenger??

6

I have read the following and would like to know when this will take effect please?

The Park and Ride service will continue to be run from two sites (London Road and Willington Street) and will extend its operating hours to 7pm with the frequency of buses remaining at 20 minutes.

7

I have heard that the 501/503 Park and Ride bus service in Maidstone is changing, but no one seems to have any more details on this. I wonder therefore, if I can get answers to these questions please?

1. What date is the service changing from?

2. Are the timings/frequency/route of the P&R buses changing?

3. Will I still be able to buy a ticket/season ticket?

4. How much will tickets/season tickets cost?

5. Where/how can I buy tickets/season tickets?

6. Can I use the Park and Ride if I walk to the car park?

7. With my current season ticket, I sometimes travel from one Park and Ride stop at Willington Street into town, and then keep on the bus to the other Park and Ride stop at Allington - and return. Will I still be able to do this with the new system?

8. Can I travel from town TO one of the Park and Ride stops? i.e. I get on the bus at Willington Street P&R and get off in town, then need to continue my journey later on to Allington P&R. What ticket can I get to do this?

9. Are senior passes valid?

8

I live in a house which is five minutes’ walk away from the park and ride at Willington Street. I rarely drive my car round to the park and ride as I am more than capable of walking the short distance. I also, being a pensioner, have a concessionary fare. As the park and ride operates every twenty minutes and is an efficient and very reliable service you can see why I use it. I believe that there are many people in my area who, like me, walk to the park and ride, so counting the number of cars parked is not a reliable measure of how well the service is used. I have read that the council is considering withdrawing the service next year if it isn't better used by then. May I suggest that if you had two fare systems operating, i.e. one for a car and one for individual passengers, you might find it gets used far more? If however you change the fare system to paying for the car then I predict you will have even less people using it than there are now. The large majority of passengers are retired people like myself who really treasure this service and removing their ability to use it will not only be a blow to them but it will also affect the prosperity of the shops in the town centre. There is always a queue of pensioners in the mornings waiting to go into town and spend their money. The shops will lose out.  Please reconsider how you will take fares from your passengers. Give them a choice. Pay for a car or pay for an individual. And let us oldies carry on using the bus service which we treasure.

9

£2.50 is too high for a single senior to pay, £1.00 is more realistic for a Pensioner to pay and I really would not object to that.

Shops would lose customers as customers would not go to town as often they would use out of town shops where they can park free.

Keeping open to midnight does not help shoppers I can see that the proposal would not pay and then I except we will see housing pop up on the land. It’s open to vandalism at midnight. If the proposal goes ahead we need a better bus service to Maidstone Town from Bearsted it’s awful at the moment that being the reason why most people use the Park and Ride but would not be willing to pay £2.50 for a single passenger.

10

I have seen your Notice of proposed charges for the Willington Street and London Road car parks.

I should be obliged to you for the following information:-

1. Does the proposed flat rate charge of £2.50 include VAT.?

2. What, if any, is the correlation between the car park charge and the P&R bus fare?

11

Wouldn’t have known the proposed changes to the Park & Ride if it hadn’t been for a neighbour copying me one of your leaflets.

Very poorly advertised,

  • Not on your website
  • no notice on the buses,
  • none on the shelters in the park & ride
  • none on the bus stops
  • none in the Downs Mail
  • The Link - no staff member new anything about it just a phone number to call
  • Don’t expect you have put a notice in the Kent Messages in all areas of Kent

Working People,

  • Not suitable for working people, wages will not cover the parking charges especially those on the national minimum wage or 0% contract. If working 6 days would be £15 per week if no concessions.

Retired People,

  • Not able to use as we have bus passes

I have travelled on the park & ride since it opened on day one, asking if I could travel on the buses as I live across the road to the site, answer was yes.

Used it for many years going to and from work.

Now retired have used it most days these changes will not allow me or other senior citizens to use it.

On travelling on these buses checking the age group and the most majority are senior citizens, using their cars and bus passes as it is so convenient to get on and off the buses safely also out of town parking, which I thought was the idea of park & ride. Some senior citizens [same unable to walk far] are dropped off in the park & ride to catch the bus and then collected when they return, this makes is safer for them and stops the cars taking them into town and dropping off at Boots which causes a lot or problems with the buses stopping there. The buses always look busy and the drivers are always very polite and helpful.

What will happen to your drivers, they have mortgages and families to support?

If this goes ahead you will find pensioners will not use the park & ride due  to the payment they will go elsewhere. You collect 82p per pensioner for using this service.

The shops in town will also suffer as while we are in town we shop for many items and stop off for a drink and eat.

It seems to me you intend to close the park & ride, does that mean you will build houses on the site?

If you live in Kent you are penalised only get bus passes, senior citizens living in London travel free on buses, underground and trains.

Recently visited Strafford Upon Avon Park & Ride which have meters but senior citizens use their bus passes.

NOTE: Just been informed you had a survey about the Park & Ride Maidstone back in December this was not advertised enough, I travel most days and found no notice of this.

12

Park & Ride at Willington Street is a much needed and used facility, especially for the older generation.

To find a parking space in Maidstone is a nightmare.  The Council, having built thousands of houses (most houses having two cars or more) have not increased car parking spaces, hence the value of Park & Ride.

If you must make a charge, there should be more than one tariff.  For the main users 1 to 3 hours is the average time spent in Maidstone, so to be charges the same amount for all day parking does not seem fair.  It is cheaper to park in the Mall car park for an hour (if you can get in) than your proposed charge of £2.50.  There will be more cars driving into Maidstone causing more traffic when we are already gridlocked most of the time, and creating more pollution.  If you must charge, a lower tariff for shorter stays.

I do hope this will not deter people using the Park & Ride and turn people away from shopping in Maidstone.  It could be cheaper driving to Hempstead Valley where there is free parking, leaving Maidstone to become another empty shopping centre.  I sincerely hope that doesn’t happen.

 

I am writing with regard to the above Order which will affect the Park & Ride parking facilities at Willington Street and London Road.

I have been a regular user of the London Road Park & Ride for many years as I work in Maidstone Town Centre, and would certainly not wish to see the service discontinued, albeit I understand that it is not making money at the present time.

I have the following points to raise on the proposed Order:

1.       I understand from speaking to the Attendant at the Park & Ride site that it is proposed that the buses will be ‘cashless’ and that one will just pay to park.  How will the bus driver therefore know that people getting on the bus have paid the parking fee – will there be something like a 2-part ticket where half is displayed on the car windscreen and the other half shown to the bus driver?  Otherwise I can see that people who live nearby will perhaps walk to the site and get on the bus without paying, or otherwise will park in nearby residential roads (or even possibly the DFS car park!) and then walk round to the site and get on the bus, thereby avoiding paying the tariff.

2.       I note that it is proposed to extend the current opening time to midnight on all days – presumably this will therefore require an Attendant to be present at midnight to close the site?  On the subject of an Attendant, it will surely also be necessary to have an Attendant regularly monitoring the sites during the day to ensure that cars parked there have actually paid the parking tariff and are displaying the necessary ticket?  This will surely involve further costs to pay such an Attendant to regularly monitor the sites?  I cannot personally see that there would be much attraction for the London Road site (I do not know the Willington Street site) to be used as a Pay and Display car park other than by users of the Park & Ride service, as there are no facilities nearby such as shops (other than DFS which has its own car park).

3.       The proposal to introduce a car park tariff will stop people using it as a ‘free’ car park – having used the Park & Ride facility regularly for many years I often see people leaving their cars there in the morning and then either walking into town or being picked up by someone else and then presumably being taken to work.  Similarly in the evening people are often dropped off there and then collect their own car and drive home.

4.       Will there be any proposal to introduce a ‘season ticket’ scheme which may work out at a slightly cheaper daily rate rather than having to pay the tariff on a daily basis, for commuters who use the service daily for work?  If not, this would entail having to have the correct change available every day for the car park ticket.

5.       I understand from speaking to the Attendant that on ‘market’ days the bulk of the passengers on the Park & Ride buses after 9.30 am are concessions who do not currently have to pay anything at all to use the service.  I do feel  that if the proposed system is introduced a lot of these people, if they live close to a bus route, will use another bus service to travel into town to avoid having to pay the parking charge.

6.       I understand that ‘up to 5 people’ in a car will be able to utilize the bus service for the parking tariff of £2.50.  Whilst this would only equate to 50p per person, I do not think that there would very often be an occasion when there are 5 people in a car.  With commuters there is invariably only one per in a car, who would still have to pay the £2.50.  I do appreciate that compared to the current daily peak-time ticket rate this is 10p cheaper, but most regular commuters who travel before 9.30 am I believe either have a season ticket or buy a ’10-trip ticket’ which works out considerably cheaper than buying a daily ticket.  On a personal note I have a Bus Pass which I use in the evening but buy a 10-trip ticket which I use in the morning, so for me the cost will increase from just over £5 per week to £12.50 per week, unless some sort of season ticket is introduced (as I have mentioned in point 4 above).  With the additional cost of petrol to and from the Park & Ride it would therefore probably work out cheaper for me to get a no.7 bus direct from Hadlow to Maidstone, paying a single fare in the morning and using my Bus Pass in the evening!

Thank you for reading this letter and hopefully some of the points I have raised will also be raised by other users of the service.

13

I use the Park and Ride London Road because where I live by East Farleigh Station we don’t have a bus service and a train once an hour.

I go on the 9 o’clock bus and pay £1.60 to get to Maidstone before it gets to crowded.

I lost my husband to asbestos lung cancer, so I travel alone, and will now have to pay £2.50.

Once again the pensioners are the target so they can’t use their bus pass or will we be able to use our pass.

 

 

Appendix 2                                                                                          Tovil Car Park

Objection 11

Petitions 4

(24 signatures)

(46 signatures)

(14 signatures)

(11 signatures)

 

 

 

Objections

 

1

I wish to object to the proposed change to the Tovil Hill car park order.

Reducing the time from 2 hours to 1 will harm the hairdressers and The Papermakers pub businesses.

The car park was originally installed and funded with a view to supporting local businesses.  The hairdressers have over the last few years indicated they would prefer an actual extension of time for parking for some of their customers. The Papermakers is the only pub left in Tovil and again a reduction in times would cause even more overspill parking onto surrounding roads.  I also feel that enforcement of these proposals would prove more difficult than the current two hour limit.

As you’ve probably seen I dropped in petition/letters from residents about their objections to the reduction in parking times at the Tovil car park. I think the Parish may be now having second thoughts on this and may be contacting you about withdrawing of their proposal.

As I mentioned before this will have a direct effect on the hairdressers and the pub.  I also think it will impact upon further overspill parking in Church Street which I deal with on almost a weekly basis.

2

I am writing on behalf of Flicks Hair Studio about the planned reduction in parking in Tovil Hill car park to one hour from 2 hours.

My wife runs the above hair salon which is adjacent to this car park.

We have been having conversations with Tovil Parish Council about the parking and the need for us to have a 3 hour time limit or for us to have a parking permit that we can give to the odd client once a day that might be in the salon for over 3 hours.

The Tovil Parish Council did issue us with a parking permit, but it was not done official we found to our cost as one of your parking attendants issued a parking ticket on a vehicle that had this permit in the window. We now find that instead of increasing the parking and not giving us an official parking permit, they have had a meeting without informing us (the chairman forgot to tell us about the minutes in their last meeting, even after us having heated conversations about lots of the issues we have had with the Tovil Parish Council on this car park), I think he tried to hide it and brush it under the carpet, did not want confrontation at their meeting at the start of February.

Well we have spoken with a number of the businesses adjacent to this car park and residents of Tovil and none of them have been consulted about this 1 hour restriction. We have got a petition going which we will send into you currently at over 50 names and also individual letters from businesses and Tovil residents complaining about this. Borough Council and Parish Council I thought are there to help support local businesses and support the locals and take into account what people want.

This decision seems to have been mad without any consultation; the Parish Council seem to have just gone ahead with it.

If this goes ahead it will cause the closure of my wife’s salon and I feel will affect the other businesses.  Her salon is part of the community and lots of older people and young mums use this salon and they cannot get into town.

We will be contacting the clerk of Tovil Parish Council to advice that myself and a number of other businesses and local people would like it put on the next meeting agenda 5th March to voice our views.

We are also contacting Helen Grant and will be talking to the Kent Messenger and local news about the way that parish council has handled this situation and the lies and the false parking permits had out, should make good reading.

3

I am writing to object the parking limit being reduced from 2 hours to 1 hour in Tovil Hill car park.

I work in Flicks Hair Studio which is a small business located directly opposite the car park.  Many of my clients have colours done, which takes on average 2.5 to 3 hours. Even some cut and blow-dries take 1.5 hours due to the thickness of people’s hair or the style they are going for.

It’s unrealistic and I physically can’t rush or people would be going out with half a haircut, wet hair or even undeveloped hair.

If my clients can’t park then I will lose my clients meaning I will lose money there for I won’t be able to work in the salon – the salon will be closed down. I object to the reduced hours. You’re supposed to support small businesses; instead this will close us down.  We have until 12th March to sort this.  Yet we have bridal parties, colours and cuts booked up until May – are we expected to ring them up and say sorry we’re going to cancel you, as there’s no parking and you will get a ticket if you park in the car park?

4

I write to lodge my objection to the Parking Consolidation Order 2008, in respect of the Tovil amenity car park.

I believe the proposal is to reduce the waiting time at this car park to 1 hour. I lodge my appeal on the basis that this is completely and catastrophically detrimental to the small businesses directly adjacent to the car park.  They completely rely on the car park for their trade.

From my own perspective, I attend the hair salon ‘Flicks’ immediately adjacentI have attended this salon every week for the past 3 years.  Most weeks I attend for just over an hour and once a month (when I have my hair coloured) it is over 2 hours.

Reducing the wait time to an hour will mean I am unable to park as a customer of Flicks, by necessity I will chose an alternative salon with parking facilities elsewhere.  Other customers will obviously do the same, resulting in a catastrophic effect to this business.

At a time when Maidstone Borough Council are actively seeking to support small and thriving businesses, I am completely shocked by this arbitrary stance.

Customers at Flicks would be willing to pay for parking to attend this salon and to continue to support this local business.  Why could the council not install a pay machine?  Or provide some kind of permit scheme to this business that they can share with customers?

I look forward to your response and update on these arbitrary proposals.

5

I am writing to object to the reduction on the parking restriction to one hour.

I am the owner of Flicks Hair Studio, 2 Church Street, Tovil.  I have a lot of customers that spend more than 2 hours in the salon having colours and perms etc.  Reducing the parking will force us to close the shop as even a cut and blow dry can take longer than an hour.

We have a lot of disabled customers in the shop as the car park in convenient.  We also do a service to long term customers that are house bound and we would no longer be able to go out and offer this service.

6

I am writing to you to object to the planned reduction in the parking within Tovil Hill car park from 2 hours to 1 hour.

My family own Flicks Hair Studio and this change will mean that our hair salon will have to close.

Our salon is part of the Tovil community and we offer a service to the old and young and on a few occasions a day on different hair treatments (colour or perming) we need more than an hour (ask any lady).

Tovil Parish Council has not consulted any business or local people about this reduction.  Why has it been proposed?

Local Councils and Parish Councils should support local businesses not force them out of business.

7

I am writing to object to the proposed Order 2018, restricting the hours of parking to 1 hour in Tovil Hill car park.

I regularly visit ‘Flicks’ Hairdressers and have a 2+hour appointment every few weeks and will find this very inconvenient.  Would it not be possible to either make this a pay or display with 1st hour free and the option to pay more for longer stay, or better still issue a business bay solely for the use of the salon?  The only other option I will have is to leave the salon in my ‘foils’ and with dripping wet hair to move my car!!

I thought we were supposed to support local small businesses not put them out of business.

8

With reference to the above proposal, to reduce the current duration of parking from the current 2 hours to 1 hour, in Tovil Hill car park, I would like to raise the following objections: Whilst my trips to the hairdressers would not be affected by the proposed changes, I do know that it would adversely affect those ladies who rely on the car park to be able to attend Flicks Hairdressers at Tovil. My mother-in-law is disabled and uses this hairdressers partly because of the close proximity of the car park.  She would not be able to complete all her visits to the hairdresser in one hour.

The other businesses nearby do not require longer than one hour for their customers but the hairdressers would lose trade if the parking allocation was reduced.

Please consider the needs of the customers of the hairdressers and indeed Flicks Hairdressers itself.  Small businesses need all the help they can get.

9

With reference to the above proposal, to reduce the current duration of parking from the current 2 hours to 1 hour in Tovil Hill car park, I would like to raise the following objections: I am disabled and use Flicks Hairdressers.  I reply on my daughter to get me there and being able to use the car park opposite.  The proposed reduction from 2 hours to 1 hour would not always be enough time for me to get a blow dry, let alone a cut and colour.  There are limited spaces but then the Post Office and Chinese Take Away do not require long term parking.

Reducing the time allocation at this car park would cause me considerable problems as someone who is disabled and does nothing to help small businesses like Flicks.

I hope that a sensible decision is made and the proposed changes are not implemented.

10

With reference to the above proposal, to reduce the current duration of parking from the current 2 hours to 1 hour in Tovil Hill car park, I would like to raise the following objections:

a. Whilst 1 hour is definitely enough time for patrons of the Post Office and Chinese Take Away which are situated opposite the car park, but not for Flicks Hairdressers.

b. The previous 2 hour allocation is not always long enough for an appointment for a cut and colour.

c. This reduction would penalise disabled/elderly users of the hairdressers who rely on the close proximity of the car park.

d. This reduction does nothing to assist small businesses – in this case Flicks – who will lose trade because of this proposed change.

I am unsure of the reasoning behind this proposed change, but as the car park is not near a railway station or other facility which may make it attractive to long term parkers, I do not understand why there is a need to change the current arrangements.

If there is a ‘need’ then maybe special arrangements could be made for clients using the hairdressers to ensure that neither they nor Flicks are disadvantaged.

I really hope that a sensible decision can be reached.

11

With reference to the above proposal, to reduce the current duration of parking from the current 2 hours to 1 hours in Tovil Hill car park, I would like to raise the following objections:

Whilst one hour is satisfactory for using the Post Office and Chinese Take Away, one hour is not enough time for appointments at the hairdressers.

My mother is elderly and disabled and relies on the use of the car park opposite Flicks Hairdressers at Tovil.  Reducing the allocated time to one hour is barely enough time to get a cut and blow dry and is definitely not long enough for a cut and colour.

If further restrictions are to be put in place then maybe it would be possible to have some sort of voucher is someone is using the hairdressers?

I trust there will be a satisfactory and sensible resolution to this issue that does not penalise small businesses and their clients.

 

 

 

Petitions

1

I am writing to object the Consolidation Order 2018 regarding the parking restriction in Tovil Hill car park.

I am supporting small local businesses by signing this letter. (24 signatories)

Many of the businesses need longer than 2 hours in the car park, whether it’s in the hairdressers, the Post Office, the beauty salon, the pub or Chinese.

These businesses need supporting or will end up closing down, creating more traffic in town due to people having to go elsewhere.

Tovil Council and Maidstone Borough Council should be supporting local businesses.

I object to the parking restrictions that you’re planning to enforce in Tovil Hill car park.

2

I am writing to object the Consolidation Order 2018 regarding the parking restrictions in Tovil Hill car park.

I am supporting small local businesses by signing this letter. (46 signatories)

Many of the businesses need longer than 2 hours in the car park, whether it’s in the hairdressers, the post office, the beauty salon, the pub or Chinese.

These businesses need supporting or will end up closing down, creating more traffic in town due to people having to go elsewhere.

Tovil Council and Maidstone Borough Council should be supporting local businesses.

I object to the parking restrictions that you planning to enforce in Tovil Hill car park.

3

We the undersigned (14 signatories) support Cllr Derek Mortimers objection to the proposed reduction in waiting times at the Parish Tovil Hill car park as it would harm local businesses and cause parking overspill onto our already clogged streets.

4

Raise the car parking limit!

Save Flicks Hair Studio (11 signatories)