Download Comments on topical matters of parking and the proposed sewerage

Isle of Man Chamber of Commerce Q3 Business Barometer free text to question:
Please add any comments you may have on the topical matters of parking and/or the proposed
sewerage charge.
[Please note the comments have been directly copied with no changes apart from those so marked]
there appears to be little thought by government about the devastating impact that proposed
legislative changes and other proposals will have on the economy of the Island at a time when it is
most fragile, Parking charges are a key example of this. Government is still fialing to reduce its own
costs internally and the private sector and members of the public are suffering again.
Charging for parking is fair and reasonable, as long as an alternative is made available for sirt stay,
convenience, collection/delivery, etc. Simply imposing parking charges with no alternatives is
unreasonable.
The toilet tax would be more progressive if it were actually levied according to the number of toilets
in each property. Bigger houses would pay more. Robin Hood would approve
It would help to see a definitive list of all the money saving and revenue generating chnages being
propsed (say for the next 3 yrs) and have some say in which ones get priority. It's hard to judge these
two in isolation.
Poor government of the island and lack of overall vision on how to dev and grow island economy. Is
2020 really working or being used or is it just another PR effort!
No more TAX, less Government.
Sewerage charges will cost our company in the region of £25K next year!
Sewerage is a service like any other utility. My electricity bill is not based on rateable value. Put
meters in and charge per use. On Parking, there is insufficient parking space in Douglas and unless
the government wants to encourage out of town development at the expense of the centre more
sensibly priced parking facilities should be built.
Moving the burden of sewerage charges form private individuals to companies is thinly veiled
electioneering. Not being able to pick up at the airport is rediculous - the current system works well
with the warden moving on people who think they can wait longer periods in the drop off / pick up
zone - why change?
Parking on the land side of the prom will have to have a health warning if outside hotels - this seems
ludicrous
The sewerage charge has once again been over complicated. There should be an amount charged to
every single individual who pays income tax that way people on benefit don't pay but earners do,
that way the tax is spread fairly around the community. As regards parking fees, first of all there
should be no free parking for MHK's or Government employees, everyone else has to pay in one way
or another, so should they.
Ultimately both are 'tinkering around the edges' of the difficult financial position the IOM finds itself
in. We need to boost economic growth and take bolder steps to do so. e.g. to give the Douglas
Masterplan momentum the Govt should make the first move and build on some of the land it owns
e.g. bus station/sea terminal. This would show confidence and support, for example, the
construction industry. Also the MEF facility at The Nunnery should be given the 'green light' to
attract the new residents that the Island needs to diversify and drive its economy forward..........
"Charging for parking is likely to reduce the number of shoppers coming into Douglas and increase
internet shopping. In turn that is likely to result in lower VAT income.
Sewerage charges based on rateable values are probably fair as long as there is an all Island rate
system. Without this Douglas residents/businesses subsidise other parts of the Island."
Parking in UK Cities / towns hasn't been free for a long time and I am surprised this wasn't
introduced years ago. After a short period of time people will get used to it. I think a park and ride
system at the old summerland site would be a great option, making Douglas more pedestrianised.
The empty sites around Douglas - Old Park raod school, old Nobles Hospital site and the Prison Site The contract for demolition should have included make suface fit for parking and all areas could
have been charged at reasonable rate to park cars and or motor homes - bring in revenue not block
off space
Shortage of parking is an ongoing challenge which inhibits business in Douglas
Parking charges in Douglas will drive more business online (UK) and away from shops/stores (IOM)
"Parking: government can compulsory purchase unsightly/derelict buildings, demolish and use for
parking?
Sewerage charge: admin and implementation costs wasteful. Should add to an existing tax eg rates"
We are protecting the vulnerable, we are protecting tenants in social housing
With the income generated at the airport parking, it should provide for an extra one or two floors of
parking above the existing. Self financed and extra revenue and convenience
Re parking.. I cannot think of any other sizeable town centre where on street parking is free. While I
benefit from this myself, I would not resent paying a charge of £1 per hour (max 2 hours) to park in
Douglas town centre, so long as the revenue stayed within DOI for use in roads and other
infrastructure.
I frequently pick up passengers at the airport and use the 30 minute free parking. If I am to be
charged I may consider parking nearby (roadside) and waiting until my passengers call me. This could
create a road hazard? I really struggle to park in Douglas on busy days and assume the parking
charge will alleviate the demand but if I have to pay I may do more on-line shopping.
"Parking fees - Seriously bad news for Douglas economy. How can this not be obvious?
Residents' charge for permits - Cut the manual bureaucracy (eg insisting on utility bills and not
relying on say centrally held tax records for address verification) as opposed to introducing a new
charge.
Sewarage charge - should simply have increased the water rates after all that."
Build a multistorey on the bus station
My answer to airport parking charges was YES, but really only because you do not give me the
facility to say " dont know"...or a link to tell me what the change is. I have no idea.
the cumulative impact on business of these and other changes should be assessed
Initiatives to balance the books within government focus more on passing costs down rather than
reducing operating costs. In my sector we can not pass costs onto our customers, we have to drive
cost improvement initiatives, government needs to take a similar approach. Burdening business with
ever growing incremental costs is not a sustainable approach in an environment where
government's stated intention is to grow the economy out of an income deficit situation. We need
to encourage growth not stifle it.
Government have NOT done their homework or carried out even the most basic impact assessment
of these charges - I know because the Minister can't tell me how much, for example the Airport
charges are expected to yield!
Availability of parking for people who need to visit Douglas for business for 2/3 hours per day is
getting worse (eg recently 20 -25 spaces in steam packet car park have become contract parking
which is often empty). Suspect nothing is being done since key civil servants and MHKs have free
reserved parking so don't have to waste 15 mins driving around mid morning/lunchtime trying to
find somewhere to park. The recent parking demand survey suggested there is sufficient provision this is clearly wrong. Chamber should pick up and lobby for increased parking as a key enabler for
future economic growth . (don't mind paying a reasonable fee based on PAYG model but I do mind
wasting valuable time looking for an available space)
Government should generally be focussing on restricting with the objective of streamlining and
thereby cutting costs, not in preserving the status quo and introducing stealth taxes everywhere
they can. This is no longer a distinctive and pleasant place to live; increasingly we've lost our
differential to the UK
"It is time water meters were installed so that people pay for what they use and can see the results
of saving water in pocket-cash.
Parking should be only for those who cannot use public transport. Some encouragement for retailers
by giving more shoppers parking facilities should be considered to prevent further decline of the
town centres."
"I believe that parking for shopping should be free, this must be controlled to avoid abuse by
commutters and retail staff. A graduated parking charge on the prom can be used. There is currently
little/no provision for visitor parking. Maybe some for of permit issued by the hotels on the prom
should be used.
Some towns have not had the IRIS connections yet so a universal tax would be unfair. instead of a
separate tax can this not be an adjustment to the Water Rate."
Retail sector is suffering. Don't agree with parking fees. Do agree with charge for residential permits
as there's an Admin cost associated with this. Sewarage charge seems fairer for individuals but not
for corporates.
No joined up thinking the small amount of revenue gained from parked will no way match the loss of
revenue to Government from Internet sales which will lead to job cuts and less profit. The toilet tax
could push some retailers over the edge - as minister Robertshaw has publicly stated - a step to far
Government needs to join up and understand how petty revenue raising initiatives affect the
community as a whole and come up with policies that benefit all parties
It doe's appear very strange to me whilst some departments are trying to encourage people into
Douglas to shop whilst the DOI seem to be doing everything it can to discourage this by charging to
park on the prom and reducing the stay to 1hr. Gov asked the DOI to make savings totalling 5 Million
but rather than address the overspends and make savings it would appear they seem to think the
way forward is to charge joe public for every possible service. The general public only have so much
to spend and we are being squeezed enough as it is already.
Increase the sewerage charge to £2k per private household as this will force property sales and
reduce property prices, benefitting first time buyers. Introduce a charge (£1k/annum) to enter
Douglas by car.