Parking in Marple Bridge and at Marple Station

[marveld]

Mind you, there were allotments on what is now the Seven Stiles housing estate when I was a girl. Where did they go?

I don't recall allotments being on the Seven Stiles site. It was always a field as I recall. You can use this website to examine an aerial view (1970s) taken before the houses were built -

http://maps.cheshire.gov.uk/tithemaps/Default.aspx

enter postcode: SK6 6LT

[My login is Henrietta]

Simple solution. Take the area on Railway Road that is currently allotments, and turn it into a car park.

Can't be done - at least not without a change in the law and I doubt Parliament would be prepared to waste time on repealing a law which covers the whole of the country just to provide parking for a few railway users in Marple.

Under the Small Holdings and Allotments Act 1908 the council have a "statutory obligation/duty" (and therefore mandatory) to provide land to be used as allotments where six or more council tax payers make a request for allotments and to acquire land for that purpose where it doesn't already exist. Where would SMBC find a suitable area in Marple to relocate the allotments to? Would they try to relocate the Marple allotments to the other end of the Stockport area?

Mind you, there were allotments on what is now the Seven Stiles housing estate when I was a girl. Where did they go?

[hatter76]

The most useful site for Rose Hill expansion would surely be Pearson Fuels, allowing that whole area (and the rather dodgy-looking Middlewood Way entrance) to be opened out, including the turning circle outside the car park which is currently a huge waste of space. Then building a parking deck similar to Hazel Grove over that entire length including the current car park would probably quadruple parking at little cost.

Finally, add a decent evening train service as good as Marple gets and suddenly as people switch you'll solve much of the Marple parking problem too.

It would be interesting to survey Marple station users and ask "If it received the same number of trains and had more parking, would you actually favour Rose Hill over Marple?" The answer might be surprising...

No it won't work as the trains through Hyde take 10 minutes longer, people will still want to use Marple. If you mixed up the Bredbury and Hyde trains from Marple and Rose Hill it might have more effect.

We need a metro timetable introducing across all GM lines, similar to the proposals in London and Leeds where all stations have a 15 minute frequency.

[Dave]

That's a really good point from rsh.  Without actual statistics it's hard to be sure, but there must surely be quite a lot more residents within a short walk (say half a mile) of Rose Hill than there are the same distance from Marple.   And as rsh says, with a proper evening (and Sunday) service, and a bigger car park, Rose Hill could also take a lot of pressure off car parking at Marple.

Maybe there was a time, long ago, when coal depots were sited next to stations, but those days have long gone, and Pearsons could operate just as well anywhere in the area.  If SMBC and TfGM could get together and look for another site, and then help Pearsons to vacate their present site and move, that could be a big step forward.

[rsh]

The most useful site for Rose Hill expansion would surely be Pearson Fuels, allowing that whole area (and the rather dodgy-looking Middlewood Way entrance) to be opened out, including the turning circle outside the car park which is currently a huge waste of space. Then building a parking deck similar to Hazel Grove over that entire length including the current car park would probably quadruple parking at little cost.

Finally, add a decent evening train service as good as Marple gets and suddenly as people switch you'll solve much of the Marple parking problem too.

It would be interesting to survey Marple station users and ask "If it received the same number of trains and had more parking, would you actually favour Rose Hill over Marple?" The answer might be surprising...

[corium]

  I have the same right to use the parking spaces available between Clement Road and Marple Bridge as anyone else.

One of the issues is that many spaces are taken up by those who do have off road parking but have had problems getting in and out of their drives because
 - they get blocked in by others
 - they can't see past the Chelsea tractors to get in and out safely unless there is someone there to help them

[Blossom]

Road fund tax was a tax charged on vehicles and was used for the maintenance of roads. This was abolished in 1937 and you now pay vehicle exceise duty. This goes into general taxation and has nothing whatsoever to do with the upkeep of roads or what many drivers see as their right to claim some sort of priority over other road users.

I still do not see why some people should be given free parking spaces if they have chosen to purchase properties that do not have off road parking.  I have the same right to use the parking spaces available between Clement Road and Marple Bridge as anyone else.

[jimblob]

Perhaps because Josh Robinson's land is supporting a Marple business, providing jobs and contributing to the economy of Marple and Stockport whereas the economy of Marple and Stockport are subsidising the allotments providing generally many already fairly wealthy people their own opportunity to follow 'The Goode Life' lifestyle.

This site should not be highlighted as 'Future housing supply land for 2024-2035', if it is used for anything it should be for parking space for commuters. It is hardly the most desirable site for housing with a busy main road on one side, a railway station and existing parking on another and finally a council tip and building supplies business to the rear.

" The economy of Marple and Stockport are subsidising the allotments providing generally many already fairly wealthy people their own opportunity to follow 'The Goode Life' lifestyle"

...and who do you think pays the council tax and income tax that "subsidises" allotments? People who might actually live near this site, next to that busy main road, the council tip, the Railway Station (which I regularly use I might add), the building supplier (which I also regularly use). Suffice to say, those taxes also subsidise MiddleWood Way, which I'm sure as a rambler you must regularly use?

Incidentally, I didn't suggest Josh Robinson ceases to trade, nor do I have an allotment.

[marplerambler]

Why not buy Josh Robinson's land outright and use that for a car park. It'd look better having a car park as part of the existing station car park

Perhaps because Josh Robinson's land is supporting a Marple business, providing jobs and contributing to the economy of Marple and Stockport whereas the economy of Marple and Stockport are subsidising the allotments providing generally many already fairly wealthy people their own opportunity to follow 'The Goode Life' lifestyle.

This site should not be highlighted as 'Future housing supply land for 2024-2035', if it is used for anything it should be for parking space for commuters. It is hardly the most desirable site for housing with a busy main road on one side, a railway station and existing parking on another and finally a council tip and building supplies business to the rear.

[corium]

What also may be interesting and isn't surprising to me, is that the whole of the Marple Dale care home site is identified, including the one remaining building that Barchester are saying they are committed to retaining. Even if they do this there is a lot of land around it. There must be questions over the site's future with significant implications for residential care in the Marple area

[Howard]

Interestingly Josh Robinson's site is highlighted as "Future housing land supply 2024 - 2035" on the Great Manchester Spatial Framework.

http://mappinggm.org.uk/call-for-sites/development-sites.htm

Wow! What a really interesting site. I've never seen that before. It's interesting that it shows the area on Church STreet down to Lockside as being in the 2019-2024 development area. Some of that land is already used for New Horizons and surely the old buildings down near the Lockside end are listed and of historical interest?

[jimblob]

Interestingly Josh Robinson's site is highlighted as "Future housing land supply 2024 - 2035" on the Great Manchester Spatial Framework.

http://mappinggm.org.uk/call-for-sites/development-sites.htm

and does that include the allotments as well?
Great! build more houses in Marple and add to the queue of traffic on Stockport Road in the mornings. I don't suppose we'd get the second part of the bypass from Hazel Grove through to the motorway before the houses get built?

[admin]

   Why not buy Josh Robinson's land outright and use that for a car park. It'd look better having a car park as part of the existing station car park rather than the JCB park and gravel storage facility that it is now.

Interestingly Josh Robinson's site is highlighted as "Future housing land supply 2024 - 2035" on the Great Manchester Spatial Framework.

http://mappinggm.org.uk/call-for-sites/development-sites.htm

[jimblob]

Simple solution. Take the area on Railway Road that is currently allotments, and turn it into a car park.

    Or leave them as allotments so we retain some green space! For the National Route 55 of the National Cycle , Josh Robinson sold a strip of their land to widen a stretch of pavement, (why the council didn't buy the full length of land and widen it all only the council will know I guess!). Why not buy Josh Robinson's land outright and use that for a car park. It'd look better having a car park as part of the existing station car park rather than the JCB park and gravel storage facility that it is now.

[Harry]

I think that the parking issues around Rose Hill last week,when Marple was operating on replacement buses, pretty much demonstrated how unsuitable Rose Hill station is for expansion.

Simple solution. Take the area on Railway Road that is currently allotments, and turn it into a car park.