Cromer - what a depressing place.

[Glow worm]

Perhaps a little unfair as a thread title. After all, anywhere that holds an annual lobster festival can't be that bad. But results of a recent questionnaire that went out to 4,500 of the town's residents (which must be pretty much all of them I guess!) caught my eye in our local rag yesterday. The top two things locals most desire, is 'as much free parking as possible' and 'a bypass'. Pedestrianisation gets just a token mention. So they basically want to ram the place with yet more cars and make it easier for them to get there, no doubt to minimise waddling distance to the chip shop. And this for a place on the edge of an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.

I'm sure towns around the country come up with similar nonsense, but why are we so unimaginative and lazy in our thinking about how we want our towns to develop? Seems to me that in the UK, if you ask - do we want towns for cars or towns for people, cars will win every time. How depressing - Cromer you are $hit!

 

[MontyVeda]

if Cromer council is anything like Lancaster Council, it doesn't matter if you're a local or a tourist, you pay through the nose to park... so i can empathise with the locals wanting to be able to park for free*. and surely the request for a by-pass means they want less cars in their little town centre than more?

*which, since they'll be paying council tax, isn't really free, but already paid for.

 

[Glow worm]

Or people could just drive a bit less and maybe, god forbid, ride a bike!

 

[Mad Doug Biker]

if Cromer council is anything like Lancaster Council, it doesn't matter if you're a local or a tourist, you pay through the nose to park... so i can empathise with the locals wanting to be able to park for free. and surely the request for a by-pass means they want less cars in their little town centre than more?

Here in Dumbarton you get free town centre parking and the A82 provides a nice bypass.

..... That said, there is smeg all to go and see unless you are a connoseur of charity shops*, Poundland or the pub**!!



* - Before you think I am knocking them, I have got some great bargains in those places over the years!
** - How can I knock the pubs that serve food?? Yes, admittedly real ale is rather thin on the ground, but... Still...

 

[Glow worm]

The solution always seems to be ' well lets build more roads then'. All the evidence I've seen suggests building more roads simply encourages more traffic. It's all so depressing. I'm just bloody glad I won't be around in 50 years to see what a complete cock up we'll have made of the place. The whole country will just basically be Slough. I'm off for a ride now in the sunshine to try to lift the gloom

 

[midliferider]

How interesting.
I read the link you provided and I did not get the same view by reading it.
Pedestrianisation of the town centre and bypass was among top five priorities. It is not a token mention. It is on top five. Therefore people are not asking that our town centre to be converted to a car park or increase car use.

The most important information for me is that just 20% of the people took part in survey. That says lot about our people participation democracy.

 

[Mad Doug Biker]

Do the lobsters enjoy their festival?

Which ones, the ones you can eat or the ones that come out of the woodwork whenever the sun comes out??

 

[MontyVeda]

The solution always seems to be ' well lets build more roads then'. All the evidence I've seen suggests building more roads simply encourages more traffic. It's all so depressing. I'm just bloody glad I won't be around in 50 years to see what a complete cock up we'll have made of the place. The whole country will just basically be Slough. I'm off for a ride now in the sunshine to try to lift the gloom

you're cherry picking the one 'bad' point you see, whilst ignoring the other points... less dog sh!t, more jobs, more entertainment, pedestrianisation of the town centre, more housing so the youth can afford to buy a house in Cromer when the more jobs come, taking better advantage of its pier... and the article suggests the council have pretty much dismissed the by-pass idea.

 

[biggs682]

Do the lobsters enjoy their festival?

better than a crabs festival surely

 

[TVC]

The piece states that the conclusions come from a questionaire sent by the council. So, people can only answer the questions put to them, and I would guess the questions would be skewed to the political aims of the council setting them.

"Do you want more free parking yes/no" is bound to get a yes answer from most.

 

[TVC]

Not even necessarily skewed, just like the bit in Rain Man when they ask whether he wants to live in the hospital or with his brother. People are fully capable of simultaneously holding contradictory views on subjects

Skewed as in only asking the questions they want answers to. A council looking for govt money to build a new road will not ask 'Do you think there should be a better train or bus service'

 

[Andrew_Culture]

Bypass to where? If you bypass Cromer you'd end up in the North Sea.

Cromer ain't the same since they converted the Rocket Cafe into somewhere posh.

 

[screenman]

[QUOTE 2891477, member: 9609"]people in cars being selfish - i would never have guessed.[/quote]
Could you not just have put the word some before that rather sweeping statement.

 

[swee'pea99]

The piece states that the conclusions come from a questionaire sent by the council. So, people can only answer the questions put to them, and I would guess the questions would be skewed to the political aims of the council setting them.

"Do you want more free parking yes/no" is bound to get a yes answer from most.

Our local council did a questionnaire to see whether the residents wanted their area to become a Controlled Parking Zone - ie, somewhere where you have to pay the council to park outside your house. They published the results: '85% have said no, so we're going ahead.' It was so brazen, you could only salute the gall.

 

[gbb]

But Cromer IS a depressing place anyway... IMO of course.
Take any east coast town in that area, Hunny, Wells, even Skeggy, they all have something that will make a day 'ok'...i never found anything in Cromer worth hanging round for. Perhaps ive missed the best bit somewhere.