Forum Replies Created
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It’s a Brexit level of over
It’s a Brexit level of over-simplification the idea that car parking charges and retail prosperity are connected.
“This will kill tourism” fury
“This will kill tourism” fury as Devon price hikes confirmed
‘I don’t know why this is happening, it’s wrong’
https://www.devonlive.com/news/news-opinion/this-kill-tourism-fury-new-9906424?
This turns out to be new parking charges – lower for locals higher for visitors in the south hams of Devon. All somehow getting equated with a Tourist Tax.
Car crashes into lamppost in
Car crashes into lamppost in Spring Road, Southampton
https://www.dailyecho.co.uk/news/24909092.car-crashes-lamppost-spring-road-southampton/
Spray.bike got me started on
Spray.bike got me started on resprays. But I think “car” paint from Halfords gives a nicer finish and is no harder to use.
California Cross: Motorists
California Cross: Motorists issue stabbing threats over roadworks
At about 09:00 GMT on Wednesday, the force said it received reports of an assault on Church Lane.
A driver intentionally hit a road worker with their vehicle before fleeing the scene, the council said. The car’s registration number was given to the police.
On Tuesday, a different motorist threatened to stab a worker before speeding off while the crew were setting up traffic controls to close Nine Mile Ride.
Later, another driver threatened to punch a worker, the council added.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-berkshire-68309152
I wonder if anything was ever brought to court about any of this.
but I thought cars meant
but I thought cars meant prosperity for shops and pubs, women able to walk the streets safely at night
Villagers ‘at a loss’ after Stonehenge tunnel axed
“Sometimes they [customers] look at traffic and say ‘it’s too dangerous, can’t get through’. It does start affecting the business,” he said.
“It’s a rat run way through away from the A303. We also get a lot of verbal abuse.”
First para bit of a bitter
First para bit of a bitter pill. When you’re in a public service with an enforcement power, people will try in all sorts of ways, to play you. You have to never forget there are always two sides to every story. In the police’s case with public complaints, it’s usually one thing has led to another and ideally someone has to be deemed to have “crossed the line” – but all too often the lines between guilt perpetrator and innocent victim are not clear-cut. As we slide into right-wing politics, perpetrators become victims all to easily.
My anecdote coming up suggests some niavety from the police about acting even-handedly. After I was knocked off my bike by a driver a few years ago my father advised me to hand deliver a letter claiming damages to the driver’s house a few days later. Stupid advice, at best from another era. I think it was the driver’s mother who opened the door – she took the letter an that was that. I got a ‘phone call from the police later that day saying don’t do that – point taken. That’s what you’re dealing with. Unknown to me at that point, the driver had on the day of the incident gone to the police station and lied her head off to them – in their shoes I’d find that really annoying. I still remember the voicemail left by the police officer who visited me to take my statement to get ”my version” of what happened. There was only on one fucking version.
As others have said, there’s no way on this Earth a driver with their 2 tonne suit of motorised armour can claim to be scared of a cyclist, not least when they’ve just put them in fear of their life.
Manningree station car park
Manningree station: Manningtree car park expansion campaigners celebrate victory
This story is at the fringes of our usual scope, but as always the question is how much space do we turn over to cars, where does it end? View the growth of the parking from 2000 onwards on Google Earth: one more bay will fix it.
In this instance how about we have a bus say every 15 minutes to this station, rather than every 1.5 hours (Sunday? LOL), rather than all this parking and decking. But that’s not what the Abellio Greater Anglia and the Dedham Vale Society are about.
There’s a bike shed mixed up in here too, and Labour channelling its inner Liz Truss this week and saying that they’re into growth and aren’t things like protecting the environment, e.g. with JRs, terrible and something should be done.
Part of what got me interested was this: ‘A Greater Anglia spokesperson said: “As an interested party and not the defendant, Greater Anglia acknowledges the outcome of this judicial review.”‘ which is a bit rich set against their trumpeting this back in spring 2020 when it opened (link below) and continuing to operate it today. I’ve not seen any explanation for the wall – much of the area tarmaced over was a pond before, say ye olde mappes, maybe that’s why?
It’s mainly the rusty wall that surrounds the car park that is the focus of the story, but in their crowd funder (extract below), somehow the cycling provision becomes part of the problem. Nice night-time picture there, guys, when everyone has gone home. Plenty of pictures of the car park show it empty.
It seems that the latest car park extension was built in 2019 ostensibly under Permitted Development rights, i.e. no specific permission (“planning permission”) to develop was required. The Council served an Enforcement Notice in February 2024. Abellio East Anglia Limited appealed the notice in April.
Now, dear readers I’ve dug around a bit more, revised this bit of the narrative and added a couple more links and a long extract at the end from are documents I didn’t initially think were “it”.
This is the point at issue: to be active, PD (permitted development) depends on whether or not an environmental impact assessment is required, and if so is it in place – none is. The council thought an EIA was required, the inspector, without actually completing the appeal case, said it wasn’t, so the Council withdrew the enforcement notice, as there were now no grounds for it.
The news today is that the SoS has decided she couldn’t defend the challenge that the planning inspector had not, in arriving at that decision, taken into account a duty of conserving and enhancing the natural beauty of the area – not quite settled on the steps of the court, but getting close to it.
The decision has to be taken again and I guess no foul-ups this time. That’s not to say it couldn’t come out the same, so I wouldn’t count my Haywain chickens yet. I’d have thought the removal or screening of the metal wall (Nature would be taking its course by now) as the council have been discussing, and some better treatment of the lighting will resolve this.
Conservationists win fight over station car park
A judicial review was due to be heard in February, but the government has now conceded the decision has been quashed, and must now be reconsidered.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/ckgxzyk74dlo
Over 220 additional car parking spaces now available at Manningtree rail station -2020
Car park ‘scenery blight’ case to go to High Court
“There was no error,” the [Greater Anglia] spokesperson said, and the Secretary of State made the right decision.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c4g5v8gj4xyo
Manningtree station’s ‘Berlin Wall’ set to be removed
“…we [Tendring District Council] are telling the operators that the car park needs to be returned to how it was before the development and are giving them nine months to do so – accepting that there may be an appeal which would pause this deadline.”
There was an appeal against this enforcement notice, and the Notice was withdrawn; I found that trying to find the inspectorate decision that is now being re-taken.
Essex car park to be test case for legislation to protect landscapes
Manningtree car park expansion campaigners celebrate victory
Dedham Vale Society fighting fund
The Dedham Vale Society accepted the need for more car parking at Manningtree station but asked that Greater Anglia submit a planning application so the effects on the landscape could be properly considered and reduced.
Instead, Greater Anglia went ahead without planning consent, removed trees, scrub and an old stables and built an unscreened steel “Berlin Wall” more than 200 yards long, together with two-storey car parks and bike parks that emit more light pollution than the whole nearby town of Manningtree. The view of the wall compromises enjoyment of the St Edmund Way pilgrimage footpath into the vale and the lighting affects the proposed dark sky status of the whole National Landscape. That is the view also of the National Landscape team who work for the four local authorities involved.
https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/dedham-vale-society-fighting-fund
Welcome to National Landscapes – the new name for the UK’s designated Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty. The Dedham Vale National Landscape sits along the Suffolk-Essex border and was designated in 1970 with the purpose of conserving and enhancing the habitats and biodiversity.
bus services
https://bustimes.org/stops/1500MANN1?date=2025-02-03
withdrawal of enforcement notice : Tendring DC
Article 3(10) provides that “Schedule 2 development” (within the meaning of the Town and Country Planning (Environmental Impact Assessment) Regulations 2017) is not permitted by the Order unless a negative screening opinion has been issued by the local planning authority or the Secretary of State has made a screening direction that the development is not ElA development.
No such screening opinion or screening direction had been issued in respect of the works to create the car park at the time that the enforcement notice was served.
Article 3(11)(a) provides that development is to be treated as being not permitted by the Order where the local planning authority has adopted a screening opinion that the development is ElA development, and the Secretary of State has not made a screening direction to the contrary. At the time that the enforcement notice was served, the Council had adopted a screening opinion that the works were ElA development and the Secretary of State had not made a screening direction to the contrary.
However, since the service of the enforcement notice and the making of an appeal against it by Greater Anglia, the Secretary of State has on 29 May 2024 made a screening direction that the works are not ElA development (i.e. contrary to the Council’s position).
Had this screening direction been obtained by Greater Anglia prior to the carrying out of the works that are the subject of the enforcement notice, there would have been no question that the works were ‘permitted development’ and a breach of planning control would not have arisen.
planning inspectorate – case never fully heard https://acp.planninginspectorate.gov.uk/ViewCase.aspx?Caseid=3341697&CoID=0
Levelling-up and Regeneration Act 2023, section 245 (6)
“In exercising or performing any functions in relation to, or so as to affect, land in an area of outstanding natural beauty in England, a relevant authority […] must seek to further the purpose of conserving and enhancing the natural beauty of the area of outstanding natural beauty.”
That became law in December 2023; the guidance came out in December 2024:
The Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000 is amended by the 2023 Act and it is confirmed in Section 85(2) that a Minister of the Crown (i.e. the planning inspector) is a “relevant authority” and is subject to the duty to conserve and enhance.
https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2000/37/section/85
Manningtree station car park extension found to be ‘unauthorised’
2nd February 2022
Council considering plans to soften Manningtree station’s controversial metal wall
Climbing plants have been proposed to make a controversial metal wall ‘softer’
https://www.essexlive.news/news/essex-news/council-wants-manningtree-stations-controversial-9008725
picture is from the Dedham Vale crowdfunder page, described as “empty”
Hi all I’m looking for advice
Hi all I’m looking for advice on what constitutes vigilantism (and what doesn’t) and whether you get called “pedo” etc if you practise it.
Video – watch the white car ahead from about 20″. BTL Comments – if you can’t spell then you’re on the brave taxi man’s side, for “standing up for the homeless” and young people today etc.
Taxi driver filmed trying to ‘run over’ teens says ‘I would do it again’
The teens had to leap out the way as the taxi driver accelerated towards them
https://www.cornwalllive.com/news/cornwall-news/taxi-driver-who-drove-teens-9911873?int_source=nba
Taxi driver who ‘drove at teens’ called a hero as wife says ‘I’m proud’
Stephen Rowe whose actions were caught on camera said he would do it again if he had to
https://www.cornwalllive.com/news/cornwall-news/taxi-driver-filmed-trying-run-9909800?int_source=nba
PS A page to watch in the coming weeks: https://democracy.cornwall.gov.uk/ieListMeetings.aspx?CommitteeId=955
Faussett Hill, Canterbury,
Faussett Hill, Canterbury, reopens after car crashes into fence belonging to The Granville pub
An eyewitness told KentOnline: “A car shot out of the pub car park across the road into woods opposite.
https://www.kentonline.co.uk/canterbury/news/road-closed-after-crash-outside-pub-319547/
Car crash that demolished
Car crash that demolished wall on Ashley Road, New Milton, sees drink-driver Albert Dyba from Chesterfield banned from roads for 17 months
mildly interesting story –
mildly interesting story – the operator of this site think there’s more to be made from having Starbucks than the parking spaces that would be lost. Drivers seem to have no comprehension of this.
Parking fears over plan for Starbucks drive-thru at Ashford Retail Park next to The Food Warehouse
https://www.kentonline.co.uk/ashford/news/we-need-parking-spaces-not-another-new-coffee-shop-319298/
Wiltshire drivers ignore
Wiltshire drivers ignore advice amidst flood chaos
https://www.wiltshiretimes.co.uk/news/24892767.wiltshires-drivers-ignore-advice-amidst-flood-chaos/
Irate speeder berated speed
Irate speeder berated speed camera officer and called him a ‘Rolf Harris’
He wound in court to face a charge of perverting the course of justice
His defence barrister Ramsay Quaife said Cooke was a man of good character who could have been prosecuted for speeding at the time but wasn’t.
Judge Linford sentenced Cooke to a 10-month prison sentence suspended for 18 months. He also said that had Cooke been prosecuted for speeding, a totting ban would have put extraordinary hardship on him and did not disqualify him as a result.
https://www.cornwalllive.com/news/cornwall-news/irate-speeder-berated-speed-camera-9909359
OK, OK, you get a £10 voucher
OK, OK, you get a £10 voucher to spend at the Diddly Squat farm shop.
