I had promised not to make any more comments. That is until I received the following nonsense from the city council - an e-mail that insults my intelligence and that of many others.
I reiterate that the public consultation exercise (and I use the word exercise advisably as that is exactly what it was) brought a result of 91% against the charges, 2% making comments of a general nature about the park and only 7% in favour. Keep that in mind as you read the following which is signed Norwich City Council - Proud to serve Norwich. That's Norwich by the way and not its people obviously. Here it is:
"Thank you for taking the time to respond to the consultation on the proposed introduction of charging for parking in Eaton Park. The consultation periods have now closed. Council officers have reviewed all responses and have taken the decision to proceed with the introduction of charging for parking within Eaton Park car parks which will commence on the 25th March 2023.
"Following the consultation Council has adjusted aspects of the project following the concerns raised through the consultation process.
"The council understands the effects the decision to introduce charging will have on users. However, it is not immune to the current financial situation and has a deficit of more than £6million. This needs to be addressed to protect vital services for residents.
"The council has purposely chosen to keep fees low – with costs starting at £2 for up to four hours. As a result of the consultation feedback, the Council will now introduce a season ticket for regular park visitors. The Eaton Park season ticket will offer a cost-effective way to park, working out at less than £2 per week over the year (editors note - that's over £100 a year). The council is offering two options - a 6 and 12-monthly season ticket.
"The council recognises that the city’s parks and open spaces offer many benefits for the community both for physical and mental health. Only those who choose to drive and park at Eaton Park will need to pay for parking, the park remains free at point of use and the council would encourage as many people as possible to walk/cycle/use public transport to travel there. Eaton Park is one of 23 parks, 81 play parks and 56 natural areas managed by the city council in Norwich.
"Council staff have worked with the business, clubs and organisations based within the park to establish special arrangements to deal with their individual concerns.
"Following the introduction of the charges on the 25 March 2023 the city council will be monitoring parking in the surrounding streets to make sure that there are no issues for residents.
The council would like to thank you for taking the time to respond to the consultation."
Sorry but I'm going to use a naughty word here. In a world dominated by bullshit, this e-mail is a prime example of sticking the boot in on the very public this council is supposed to serve. I am often very critical of our Conservative Government. But to be fair I must point out that Norwich City Council is under the control of the Labour Party.
It is quite obvious that they had no intention of listening to the public and the consultation was just a paper, box ticking exercise so that they could say they had garnered public views, even if those views were counter to what they obviously were going to do all the time.
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It was lovely to share a cup of tea with bloggette Biddy in the cafe at Norwich Forum. I promise I won't mention that as she left, Biddy smashed her cup. I promised her I wouldn't mention this and so I haven't. She wasn't angry at what I had said of course, it was a pure accident. Although I must say I'm sure there are people around who would like to chuck a cup at me.
We had a good old chinwag covering many many topics.
On the way back to catch my bus I popped into Waterstones Book Shop and once again was gobsmacked by the number of newly published books. Books seem to be becoming very specialised with far ranging topics but there are so many of them. How do they all find a market, especially as lots of the paperbacks had stickers on them indicating a price rise?
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Former snooker world champion Steve Davis has always been labelled boring and I've never understood why. He has a sharp sense of humour and I haven't found him boring at all.
Now all of a sudden he's become interesting anyway as the leader of a psychedelic progressive rock band known as Utopia Strong. I have only caught snatches of their synthesised music but what I have heard reminds me of a very early Pink Floyd.
I'm interested enough to listen to a lot more.