For God's sake, pack it in

email correspondence between James Gibson-Watt & Cllr. Geraint Hopkins (and others)

An email from James Gibson-Watt to Councillor Geraint Hopkins:

Geraint,

Your CEOs were in Hay on Good Friday and again today (Bank Holiday Monday), booking a great many people in the time-limited zones, despite the fact that the main car park and Memorial car park were completely full. Apart from greatly angering local residents this is a sure-fire way to indicate to tourists that they are not welcome in Hay or Powys. It beggars belief that you believe that this is a sensible way to support the local economy. Heaven knows, it is hard enough to run a shop or tourist business at the moment, but fleecing visitors in this way is completely ridiculous and very damaging. What on earth do you think you are doing? For God's sake, pack it in.

James Gibson-Watt

To which Councillor Geraint Hopkins responded:

James,

Would you be happy for people to park in time limited bays all day? Surely that would anger the shop keepers! We are looking at extra parking for Hay, but at the moment surely it is better to keep the traffic flowing and use available spaces to their best potential? This idea that we took over CPE as a money spinner is ridiculous. We were told by Dyfed/Powys police that they were ceasing traffic management. Can you imaging the chaos in Hay-on-Wye on bank holidays, with people parking all over the place, if the CEOs weren't present?

Geraint

A brief aside from Councillor Gareth Ratcliffe:

Dear Geraint

Since last Thursday we have had traffic wardens in Hay Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Monday and today we have 2 in town? I accept that we need enforcement BUT give the locals and businesses a chance and introduce a resident parking scheme like you promised in full council. It is killing the town

Best wishes

Cllr Gareth Ratcliffe
Hay on Wye Ward

and James Gibson Watt said:

My point is Geraint that there was nowhere else for visitors to park when the main car park was full. When that happens the CEOs should use their common sense and not enforce in the time-limited areas. All we are asking for is the application of common sense. And anyway, how does issuing parking fines in those circumstances help to keep the traffic flowing? This morning the activities of the CEOs cost me at least one sale, as a lady was terrified that she had gone just over the hour in a time-limited area. Others are just too frightened to stay and look around, citing fear of a parking fine. The CEOs turn up in the morning (two this morning), clear the streets of cars and wreck the day's business. That's the fact of the matter. I do not believe there would be chaos in Hay if a much lighter touch was applied, with CEOs concentrating on preventing the roads from becoming obstructed and booking those who stay on the double yellows for more than a few minutes.

In the winter when there were dozens of spare on-street spaces they were booking people in the time-limited zones and you cannot claim that that was to keep the traffic moving! You cannot deny that that was purely to raise revenue and enforcement was applied with much rudeness and spite. My own view is that the way that PCC has operated its CPE duties has been very destructive for the local economy, which I should not need to remind you is v. fragile at the moment. PCC should be helping the local economy, not destroying it.

James