Have a clear idea of how to solve parking problem

Overall, I do sense a nearly complete lack of joined-up thinking and/or a degree of protectionism for individual departments of local and wider governance.

Some examples...

I believe, from an experience, that the parking department work to budgets, which are calculated on history, inflation and expected 'footfall'.

They are not based on any marketing strategy for developing town centre trade and vitality.

That is a budget for another department.

Do we really need a major development in the central car park?

Would it be better to upgrade the shopping offer in the town centre, not threaten the very existence of the town centre businesses by opening more shops in the car park?

I have often seen these 'posh' new developments with several empty premises after a year or two because of slow business and high overheads.

In the meantime the developer has sailed off into the sunset with a huge profit in their bank.

If a proper traffic census was carried out would we not discover that a great deal of the traffic (and carbon monoxide) derives from those living in Wilton and all points west driving into and through Salisbury for their major food shopping?

Wilton and in particular the UKLF site would make an ideal location for a decent medium-size superstore.

The opening of another superstore opposite Tesco in Southampton Road will just exacerbate all the current traffic issues.

History has sadly demonstrated that joined-up thinking is not part of local politics, consequently we have:

- Churchfields industrial estate near the town centre with large articulated lorries pounding our roads and polluting our skies.

- A near empty out-of-town industrial site on Netherhampton Road in Harnham.

- Our hospital miles out of town with millions of litres of precious fuel being used to access it.

- Park and Ride sites that are not paying their way.

- Bourne Hill council offices that cost millions of pounds to re-develop, when there was/is the Old Manor site in Wilton Road opposite the courts that would have been ideal for a purpose-built building.

The Bourne Hill building would have made a much needed and ideal top class hotel.

That building and all the other council offices around the town could have been sold off to pay for the new building.

Possibly a small police station with holding cells (or share the courts cells) could have been incorporated into the court building.

On a positive note it is good to see our roads being improved at last, well done that department!

Paul Dorey

Harnham

I WOULD like to add my thoughts to the current discussions going on regarding car parking in Salisbury.

I moved to Salisbury from Shrewsbury just over a year ago. My wife and step-daughter opened a shop in St Thomas’s Square in the city centre in March 2013 (OSOsilver), so we have a keen interest.

I completed the council’s questionnaire on parking and found the questions were merely choices over tweaking current revenue rather than any new initiatives to consider.

With regard to the questionnaire which invites people to come up with alternative funding methods, if we support reduced parking charges how on earth are we supposed to make any suggestions without access to all the details of council expenditure and budgets?

I am sure if these details were available we would be able to spot areas to reduce which would be far less damaging to the city than the current high parking charges.

The council seems to have the dinosaur view that increased parking charges mean higher revenue – this is a road to nowhere.

Other local authorities have seen the light and are actively reducing charges, attracting new businesses with the increased visitor footfall and gaining the benefit of increased revenues from business rates.

Our council must come up with some more inspired thinking on this subject.

With regard to park and ride, the “last bus from town” problem is often voiced in our shop by visitors, many of whom would like to round off a day’s shopping with a visit to a restaurant but cannot.

If the council or private operators will not, or cannot, extend the hours of service why not approach taxi companies to provide a reduced rate to get shoppers back to the various sites after 6.30pm?

I believe at London Road and Wilton an experimental service will be operated whereby P & R visitors can use their tickets on scheduled buses up to 9.30pm from the city centre as of today. It’s a start.

I would like to see a much broader discussion on the subject, not just an impotent questionnaire clearly designed to give them a sort of mandate to just carry on with their proposals.

Keith Smith

Harnham Road

Salisbury

THE suggestion that the park and ride scheme should be abandoned is a positive one but should be adopted only if there are enough spaces in the city to accommodate the vehicles. I doubt there is.

Furthermore, it should not be adopted without proper consideration of the impact on air quality that these additional vehicles would have; in some areas the pollution is already very high.

I have a counter-proposal. When the park and ride scheme was first discussed it was stated that the cost of parking there all day would be low, whereas in the city it would be cheap to park for a short time but long-term parking would be expensive.

This strategy has not been followed.

The cost of short-term parking in the city should be low so shoppers have a reasonable amount of time to look around, have a drink and perhaps a meal without being concerned about the parking fee.

I suggest the first three or four hours should be free or, at most, a nominal amount.

The cost of all-day parking should be very expensive.

This would encourage shoppers into the city and encourage those who stay for a long time to use the park and ride, making it less of a liability.

Revenue from the park and ride could be further increased by charging a modest amount to park there in addition to the bus fare.

Cambridge charges £1 per car with automated barriers.

Keith Rodger

Salisbury

WHY is Jane Scott trying so hard to bring Salisbury to its knees?

Why is she so disenchanted with Salisbury?

Thanks to her we have exorbitant parking charges, loss of business and employment. This as well as the excessive fuel tax by the chancellor means that Salisbury will soon be a ghost city.

Jane Scott has to go.

Mr P J Furnell

St Andrew's Road,

Salisbury

THE debate on the city centre parking, the park and ride sites and the rural and city bus services has become mixed and complex and in danger of no real decision being made for the benefit of the wider district.

I offer into the mix: Levy a £5 fee for administration costs for the concessionary bus pass - this to last two-three years, so would still represent excellent value. Wiltshire Council to publish full costings of the park and ride sites – including the Wilton site. As we are “All in this together” possible reductions to the annual rent for the Wilton site could be requested.

Quite substantial savings could be made on this site.

Evaluate and then highlight the “best” P&R sites and then close the least used. Four would serve the city well. Then also consider using smaller buses.

Encourage local parishes to include a levy in their precepts to go towards subsidising their local bus service – thereby ensuring retention of such service to that village and those areas.

I am unsure who is best to lead the way, to improve things in Salisbury, but would encourage all to make comment on the issues which affect our lives here in the Salisbury district.

Visit consult.wiltshire.gov.uk /portal in order to find out further information.

DE Hill

Salisbury

HAVING seen the suggestion that parking charges in Salisbury may rise to £9 a day I suggest it does not matter how much it is raised, to – £9, £12, £15 or £25, we would pay it.

Our political representatives at all levels will complain, but take no action.

I call on our mayor and our numerous elected re-presentatives to begin a campaign of ACTION to recover control of this lovely city and its environs.

As long as Wiltshire Council (WC) has control of this city it will continue to suck the life out of it in any and every way it can. This of course includes the wholesale selling off of our assets and robbing us blind for parking.

Geoff Venner

Castle Street

Salisbury