Forum Topic

Southall Car Park - Buying Votes?

From a Public Notice in the Ealing Gazette (incidentally the Public Notices section of the council's website has not been updated since 23 June 2013) I see that the new Southall car park built at a cost of OVER £30,000 PER SPACE is now to be free for the first hour.This is doubtless in response to the representations from local traders who complained about the charges.Hopefully, this will see more than just a few cars use this white elephant.Come on then Ealing Council extend this 'deal' to the rest of Ealing, encourage people back into local shopping areas, or aren't our votes as relevant as those of the traders in Southall?Roll on May 2014.

Nigel Brooks ● 4559d7 Comments

Buying votes / funding election campaigns with £2.1 Million of OUR money, it's still bloody corrupt and an insult to the other areas of Ealing.

Nigel Brooks ● 4554d

I don't think that this has got to do with buying votes, but instead it is concerned with funding. The Southall businesses are fickle politically (many of the real Ealing inhabitants will recall when half-a-dozen Labour councillors from Southall defected to the Conservative Party while in office because they thought that they could get a better deal) and both Vviendra Sharma (Southall's Labour MP) and Julian Bell (his researcher and our council leader) need money to run their election campaigns in the next couple of years from the Southall businesses. So they put in a car park that the Southall business owners think that they want - which is not the same as the residents' needs.

Keith Slater ● 4554d

Wyke Gardens (now subsumed by Elthorne Park) and running parallel to Southdown Avenue as 'home' for a lot of 'prefabs' when I was a child. Modern building techniques mean that 'system built' houses are far removed from what those of us old enough remember as 'pre-fabs'.There must be plenty of sites like Wyke Gardens or the Southall (white elephant) car park where much needed home can be constructed and rented to those who have contributed to society.

Nigel Brooks ● 4556d

If the car park is not being used let's dig it up and build pre-fabricated Council Houses on it. This will be safer than unregulated beds in sheds and with house building nationally at its lowest level since 1923 this will meet a real need.St George is planning to give Ealing Council £3.65 million so that it doesn't have to build 59 Affordable Homes at Dickens Yard behind the Town Hall. Use this cash for building new Council House pre-fabs. Let's get that post WWII feeling going again!

Eric Alan Leach ● 4556d

The expense of parking in parts of Ealing  has a negative impact on local shops.  Surely this wonderful concession should be rolled out through the whole of The London Borough of Ealing.

Lisa Barbaric ● 4556d

You cannot possibly allow concessions to this CP in Southall but still maintain the standard charging tariff’s in the borough for other such facilities. Stinks to me!!

Bud Richards ● 4556d

Anyone else find this dubious?

Nigel Brooks ● 4557d