I’ve spent the day on Paignton harbour fighting the good fight at Harbour Sports, which isn’t a bad thing although today I had other plans. But for all sorts of reasons I didn’t have the right people I the right place and so here I am.
Opening the post from yesterday I see that I have a ballot paper for the Exeter BID. The Exeter what? BID: Local Government Act 2003 Business Improvement Districts (England) Regulations 2004. Basically this means that local business pay a percentage (tax) based on rateable value as a contribution toward improving the local business environment to encourage folk back into the town centre. Government then chip in a large chunk and away we go.
Some folk might see this as another tax, but I have no comment on that. What I do think is that unless we address parking then very little will change. You can plant all the flowers you like, paint beautiful walls, ring bells, arrange dancing and whatever else you want but do nothing about parking then it will all end in tears.
A little while ago I wrote an article in the Herald Express about town centre parking and suggest that THE FIRST HOUR SHOULD BE FREE. Locally Torbay Mayor Gordon Oliver is sorting a committee to look at town centre parking, but it really isn’t that complicated. Unless folk can park without taking out a mortgage then they will not come back to the town centre. So please, if you feel that it is worth saving the local community, campaign for FIRST HOUR FREE PARKING.
That brings me neatly to the other restricting process in business district revival, Value Added Tax! 20% really did plonk a big stopper on spending because it arrived at a time when we were already on our knees. Perhaps Mr Cable can ask his new friends whether they might consider a return to 17.5% before we run out of people to collect the tax at all!
Less rhetoric and a little more joined up thinking would be welcome.
He wanders on……………….
Opening the post from yesterday I see that I have a ballot paper for the Exeter BID. The Exeter what? BID: Local Government Act 2003 Business Improvement Districts (England) Regulations 2004. Basically this means that local business pay a percentage (tax) based on rateable value as a contribution toward improving the local business environment to encourage folk back into the town centre. Government then chip in a large chunk and away we go.
Some folk might see this as another tax, but I have no comment on that. What I do think is that unless we address parking then very little will change. You can plant all the flowers you like, paint beautiful walls, ring bells, arrange dancing and whatever else you want but do nothing about parking then it will all end in tears.
A little while ago I wrote an article in the Herald Express about town centre parking and suggest that THE FIRST HOUR SHOULD BE FREE. Locally Torbay Mayor Gordon Oliver is sorting a committee to look at town centre parking, but it really isn’t that complicated. Unless folk can park without taking out a mortgage then they will not come back to the town centre. So please, if you feel that it is worth saving the local community, campaign for FIRST HOUR FREE PARKING.
That brings me neatly to the other restricting process in business district revival, Value Added Tax! 20% really did plonk a big stopper on spending because it arrived at a time when we were already on our knees. Perhaps Mr Cable can ask his new friends whether they might consider a return to 17.5% before we run out of people to collect the tax at all!
Less rhetoric and a little more joined up thinking would be welcome.
He wanders on……………….
