Shrewsbury traders ‘bearing brunt of Shropshire Council cuts’
Thursday 14th July 2011, 8:16PM BST.
Traders in Shrewsbury are among those who are bearing the brunt of Shropshire Council’s programme of cuts and increased charges, a campaigning group has warned.
William Edmondson, a member of the Shropshire Fights Back group, said the authority’s current policies were making things difficult for individuals and businesses in the town.
He said asking staff to accept pay cuts, combined with reducing bus subsidies and increased parking charges, was already having an impact. He said: “People in Shrewsbury are going to be hit in the autumn when the cuts come in.
Dr Edmondson said a recent decision to remove concessionary fares for Shrewsbury park and ride services was also making things harder for traders.
“You withdraw the concession for the buses and just that one thing stops a significant number of people going into Shrewsbury.
“We are trying to alert Shropshire consumers that whilst Kim Ryley (Shropshire Council chief executive) and Keith Barrow can talk the talk, when you look at what they are doing the arithmetic doesn’t add up.
“Kim Ryley doesn’t seem to understand Shropshire is the most diffusely populated county in England, with six acres per person.
Councillor Keith Barrow, leader of Shropshire Council, said decisions have not been taken lightly.
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Keith Barrow is the opposite of Robin Hood.
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Lack of the Park n Ride Concession for Bus Pass holders means many of us who dislike a long bus journey, or don’t have a connecting bus route and so need to use our cars, no longer visit Shrewsbury.
Maybe that is why Staffordshire Council are rumoured to be subsidising the 164 Sunday bus service from Market Drayton in Shropshire to Newcastle under Lyme & return after Shropshire Council axes this 164/64 Sunday route next week.
Information on the Arriva website
http://www.arrivabus.co.uk/ServiceSearchResults.aspx?regid=127&txt=Newcastle%20Under%20Lyme
164 – Market Drayton – Newcastle – Hanley
Midlands
- Timetable effective from Sunday, 31 October 2010
- A new timetable will be effective from Sunday, 17 July 2011
The new timetable is not yet visible.
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Perhaps the public sector is part of the real world after all – and perhaps they pay their taxes and buy goods and services (and thereby contribute to the wages and pensions of the private sector) – but I do agree that Kim Riley does not understand Shropshire – he doesn’t even understand his own workforce and spends his time anywhere but here.
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At last businesses are waking up to the idiocy of slashing and burning the public sector.
all public sector workers spend nearly all their wages with the private sector – restaurants, shops, travel agents, estate agents, insurance, garages etc etc. The policy of Shropshire Council in cuting jobs and hacking wages will deal a hammer blow to the local economy.
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Port Hill Boy, you have an eclectic set of views!
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He’s quite right!
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Is it time for a vote of no confidence in the Chief Exec and Leader of Shropshire Council? They clearly don’t appear to have the interests of their staff or residents at heart and are completely out of touch with how we can make Shrewsbury and Shropshire as a whole a better place.
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