[QUOTE=thediscovolante;6680583]im sorry for the confusion salus...i moved from the town centre in 2003 out to churchtown......but my best memories will always be the old town centre 60s 70s 80s 90s...the pony rider burger shop...the ship inn on our motorbikes outside...the scarisbrick various bars...the kingsway with the risk you may not get in..(rip tony adams)..as a child the open air pool,,the whole promenade frontage..my mum parking outside the arts centre/boots etc and we all explored...i now really want to shop and stroll into our town but...i wont risk driving and parking and risk being fined and punished...the centre is now just charity shops traffic wardens and dodgy people...[/lets not forget those evening strolls on our free to roam beach,at the end of a working day,natures cure for the days toils and burdens,till they sold it off and gave it to the rspb under the crap theyd like us to accept coastal erosion bluff,an all this erosion took place in 20yr .funny it happened alongside the rainford sand winning contracts.they where supposed to take 4inches of surface off that bank .its all gone now!

Originally Posted by r4dent

All I'm asking in that BID publish Performance information that they say is how they should be measured. The decisions include objective data and not just subjective memories. Then we can get the true picture,then move forward with or without.

Bid say this is how they assess success, all I ask is to see the results.

Their primary objective was to bring the colour back to Southport, make it more vibrant and encourage investment in the town and new stores to come here.

I don't buy the analytical mumbo jumbo backed up with waffle language that all sounds good, but means very little...increased footfall? It's all just a waste of time, paper and resources and has no real substance in it.

The true measure of their success is in asking the traders of the town how their businesses have performed in the last five years.
Have they seen more customers? More shoppers?
Have they had increase in sales on event days?
Is the centre more vibrant with a buzz about it?
Can they see any investments that has made a difference?
Have the big players, companies and brands moved to the town, as promised?
Have any of the empty units been taken? ( There is actually more empty then when they started!)
If you can answer 'yes' to any of these then they have achieved some success.

Five years ago, shortly after their inception we lost a lot of shops both small business and major corporations.
The levy was just another bill to pay and it proved just too much for some to continue here.
Don't forget, all these shops already pay good business rates, the BID was welcomed by the local Council because it meant their responsibilities were suddenly off loaded and everything became the BID's problem...
So they have to be pitied in that respect, for being forced with the Council's burdens, the Council can't lose but ultimately has the final say on every small detail.
The BID is the council's middle man...
In any business middle men don't need to exist..hence the phrase 'cut out the middle man'
We've paid our five years...change needs to happen and as much as the Council doesn't want to support & invest in this town, it must ...it is it's duty and responsibility to it's residents, businessess and visitors.

as some one who lives near Southport , BID have done nothing to attract me into the town ... they need to have a trip into Liverpool city centre and see how that is doing.

Originally Posted by thediscovolante

im sorry for the confusion salus...i moved from the town centre in 2003 out to churchtown......but my best memories will always be the old town centre 60s 70s 80s 90s...the pony rider burger shop...the ship inn on our motorbikes outside...the scarisbrick various bars...the kingsway with the risk you may not get in..(rip tony adams)..as a child the open air pool,,the whole promenade frontage..my mum parking outside the arts centre/boots etc and we all explored...i now really want to shop and stroll into our town but...i wont risk driving and parking and risk being fined and punished...the centre is now just charity shops traffic wardens and dodgy people...

No need to apologise you clearly wrote lived not live,

Originally Posted by r4dent

All I'm asking in that BID publish Performance information that they say is how they should be measured. The decisions include objective data and not just subjective memories. Then we can get the true picture,then move forward with or without.

Bid say this is how they assess success, all I ask is to see the results.

It should not be necessary to publish performance details - the results of the BID organisation should be there for everyone to see. I have not noticed any improvement to the town centre that BID may claim to have carried out - which means such changes are not obvious, and if they are not obvious to me, they most certainly will not be noticed by any visitors. In which case the BID organisation is redundant - it makes no difference if it was there or not - except a lot of money is paid for nothing.

Yes, people can park at a distance from the shops for nothing. Imagine if Morrison's did not have a free car park - how many people would shop at the store? It is the same in town. People take pleasure and leisure time in shopping. They need to park near to where they can place their shopping securely then go and relax somewhere for a meal/coffee etc., They cannot do that while worrying about time restrictions for parking, or whether they will be given a ticket or not.

There are so few motorists go to town now, which makes the Parking Meter people having to find motorists who may by the merest fraction of chance, may have inadvertently breached the regulations. A parking ticket in this case results in expensive court cases - is it really worth the effort?

Far better to have motorists flocking to town, parking responsibly where ever they can find a space - than have no motorists at all and a ghost town. The parking restrictions mean shop closures, which in turn mean far fewer business rates being paid to the council. What is more profitable to the Council - parking fees or business rates? If BID was to use their efforts more effectively - the council would be making far more money than they do from parking.