Sunday Shopping In Hartlepool

[fred c]

Gobsmacked  thats the only word that comes to mind about my visit to Middleton Grange on Sunday lunchtime.

Most of the shops were shut, including M&S, although MacD & Greggs were doing a roaring trade, if it wasn`t for the phone, pasty, & pound shops the place would have been empty.

But what amazed me most was the fact that the indoor market was closed altogether.

The council are initiating an Indoor Market revival project, & the place is locked & shutttered, it goes to show how badly the stalls in there are doing now, so why spend the thick end of £100,000 on a pie in the sky upgrade.

The free parking inducement was for the multi - storey & the M&S carparks, surely it would be worth a punt to make "All Carparks" free on a Sunday to see it that attracted people to the place ?.

Joined up thinking & planning seems to be a problem with HBC, the town centre is a complete embarrasment, York Rd is full of empty & rundown shops, yet they allow a development of 6 or 8 shops next to the car park roundabout... more empty shops to join the 30 or so in Middleton Grange.

drummond was asked at the last full council meeting about a "Retail Revival Strategy" for Hartlepool, i hope he comes up with a better plan for that than he did for the "Grot Spots".

[testing times]

M&S as a company have always supported the 'keep sunday special' doctrine so I don't thing its something peculiar to the Hartlepool store although the one at the Metro seems to open on Sundays. You're right about the indoor market though. Giving start-ups a six-month rent free period seems like a good idea but beyond that I'd say it was throwing good money after bad. I blame the Shopping Centre management for being greedy and HBC for being so out of control of its spending that it can't afford to give up the parking charges even when its not difficult to shop somewhere else without pay for parking.
I caught sight of some poor pensioner trying to open one of those heavy doors to the indoor market the other day. Like I say, the Middleton Grange management are simply clueless. I mean, a coat of paint outside the market area wouldn't hurt never mind coming up with fancy schemes.

[fred c]

t t.... i do`t know about M&S having a Sunday opening policy, but i believe the Metro Centre, Teesside Park, Dalton Park, Newcastle, Middlesborough & York stores all open on a Sunday.

Once a shopping centre reaches a certain level it must be almost impossible to restore it to what it once was, but free parking might be worth a try.

[no6bus]

the usual lets blame the council/mayor for everything brigade are out in force i see.

the rents of the shopping centre shops are not controlled by hbc
the recession that has hit the country is not down to them
the choice of shops and their opening hours is not down to them
the indoor market stallholders chose not to enter into the sunday opening when they were given the choice
sunday parking is free but most families choose to stay away
the best thing all round would be to shut the shopping centre on a sunday

but then we would get someone on here bemoaning the fact they couldnt go and get something from one of the pound shops

[mk1]

the usual lets blame the council/mayor for everything brigade are out in force i see.

If you (try) and take the credit for all the positives in the Shopping Centre then it follows you are also responsible for the failures.
The clown of a Mayor has not got a clue about anything and is a total failure in the job. If you want evidence look at the 4 million pound didsaster of a 'Transport Interchange' that was rushed through just to impress the 200,000 (real numbers) visitors who came to see the Tall Stories Event.
All fur coat and no knickers.

but then we would get someone on here bemoaning the fact they couldnt go and get something from one of the pound shops

Or bemoan the fact they are not going to get a free football pitch after all......

[no6bus]

didnt realise stuart had built the transport interchange i thought it would be down to a subcontractor but i will bow to your superior knowledge.
i also thought the council department who awarded the job may just take a little bit of responsibility.

wasnt aware of stuart taking any responsibility for the shopping centre as wasnt it the council under the labour party who disposed of the shopping centre?

[The Great Dictator]

It is not worth a trader opening on a sunday because the big four get the lions share. Nobody uses the centre from mon-sat so why bother on a sunday.
If i wanted to shop on a sunday it would be in Durham or Newcastle not this sh*t tip..

[mk1]

didnt realise stuart had built the transport interchange i thought it would be down to a subcontractor but i will bow to your superior knowledge.

A wise move.
That aside it is a fact Dumbo speeded up the building of this useless  project specificaly so it could be used for the coaches coming to the Tall Stories.
So yes Dumbo is responsible for spending 4 million on a project that had a 'service life' of 4 days.
I also remind you the hastre in which it was built resulted in the original set of steps (at the railway bridge) falling apart within weeks of the opening. They were replaced by concrete steps.

i also thought the council department who awarded the job may just take a little bit of responsibility.

Plenty of blame to go around but remember this 'project' was being mulled for well over a decade without any practical steps being taken to build it. Dumbo made it a priority and  pushed it to completion.
Dumbo loves  'vanity' projects that will (he claims) bring 'regeneration' and jobs aplenty. Why I even believe he is in favour of another of these  fantasy schemes for the Mill House site......................

wasnt aware of stuart taking any responsibility for the shopping centre

Dumbo is to be found gurning  in the Mail at the announcement of anything 'positive' about the shopping centre but I agree with the thrust of your post.
I too am unaware of Dumbo taking any responsibility for anything!
Success  has many fathers whilst failure is an orphan and all that..................

[fred c]

I find it rather strange no6 that you think it`s ok that Hartlepool has a sub-standard shopping centre, but then blame people for having the temerity to comlain about it.

The Mayor & Councillors aren`t guilty of all of the troubles that beset Hartlepool, but they have to take some responsibility, we have one of the highest council taxes in the country & yet we don`t have a comprehensive local transport system.

They allowed the ludicrouse expenditure of £4 million pounds on a totally useless Transport Interchange, which consists of 5 or 6 glass bus shelters & 20 parking spaces, that £4 Million could have been better spent, they were responsible for that.

They allowed a multi million pound overspend on The Tall Stories, why didn`t they make sure that it was a well researched, well costed & a well managed project, incidentally they still quote 970,000 people visited the event, the same councillors that ok`d the Tall Ships also allowed a budget of £150,000 pounds for corporate hospitality for the event.

They allowed the CEO to manipulate a massive payrise at a time of stringent financial constraints & then had the audacity to complain about it afterwards, who amongst the ruling group spoke out against it publicly before the event ?.

The parking policy doesnt just affect the shopping centre car parks, drive along streets a hundred or so yards from the town centre & you will find parking meters, Whitby St for example, pop into Hodgesons for a bit of fish & risk a £60 fine, how exactly does that encourage small businesses.

The Baden Street project, £465,000 i don`t know if a bus now uses Baden St, but i have cause to pass along it frequently & its in a worse state now than this time last year, councillors gave that spend the OK.

The example that would be of most interest to yourself is of course the "Mill House Master Plan" like most people i have no problem with it in principle, but i have no faith in it ever coming to a financially viable conclusion.

The lack of positive action with regards to the Hospital closure by the ruling group can`t be blamed on anyone but the ruling group, how many for instance attended the public march around the town ?

There are other examples that the public won`t even know about thanks to the oft used "Pink Paper" the prime example of that policy is the proposed purchase of the Big Tin Shed.

I consider myself to be a realist possibly even a realistic cynic, but i give you 1 conclusive example of the reason why............. 10 years ago a bloke stated publicly that his priority was to rid Hartlepool of it`s "Grot Spots"

10 years on, they are still there.

[no6bus]

i dont actually think its ok that our shopping centre is crap, however it is down to a multitude of things but i do get frustrated that everything is conveniently blamed on our mayor.
everybody has known for years that due to being bad losers (especially in mayoral elections) the labour party has made it as difficult for the mayor to do his job as possible, i am not saying he would have made a better job of it but we will never know.
is it the mayor or the council who have put the car parking charges up to such a level that nobody wants to pay it, whilst at the same time making that many permit bays so the council staff can have subsidised car parking mon to sat. now baring in mind how many council staff work on a sat why couldnt it have been mon to fri, instead this way they can come into town and park for free on a sat whilst getting the train off to the metro centre.
why would the mill house master plan be more relevant to me than say public transport, yes i am a pools supporter but also a realist, a project £5 million short will never go ahead, the council and the club are very unlikely to come to agreement because no councillors have any fingers in that particular pie.
finally (as it is time to go and serve the clients) the grot spots, would you like the council to line the pockets of the likes of capanac leisure to clear up the odeon and longscar centre, the grot spots was always going to be the most difficult issue to resolve as you cant just go around and demolish buildings you dont like.(unfortunately)

[Stig of the Seaton Dump]

That just confirms the fact that having a mayor doesn't work unless he represents the councillors which our current one doesn't.

Can you imagine a Labour Prime Minister with a majority Tory parliament, doesn't make sense does it. 

The mayor should know better than have pipe dreams about sorting out grot spots.
Anybody can have an idea, the difference being he is paid to make them work so he should think before he speaks (and then fails to deliver).

You can't but a boat with one oar and then 10 years later use the excuse that you have been going nowhere because there is an oar missing on your boat.

[steveL]

I don't see a lot of difference in the ideas for the Indoor Market from the very similar 'balloon' launch' of the last failed scheme. Both are intended in pushing the illusion of action and both will be pretty much forgotten about soon after the publicity photos have appeared in The Mail.

Drummond is guilty of being a fully signed-up member of the spin brigade. It's months now since he wrote in his Mail column that the sale of Jackson's landing was a fortnight away and years since he announced that the transfer of the Marina infrastructure was but days away.

As for the Grot Spots - well, what can you say?

[Julie noted]

I'm with fred c on this one.
I can't comprehend how someone with drummonds background (jester in a suit, given to inappropriate touching of females, liked sinking beer whilst watching strippers etc.) can be in a position of having a 'casting vote' on important topics in this town.
Is it any wonder this town never goes forward when we have people like him and the labour cronies running the show.
The voters of this town really do get the dross they deserve.

[marky]

The 60s concept of shopping centres is dead. They need to be turned into community focal points - including shops and markets - just like the ancient Roman Forum was. They should move the Connect Centre into Middleton Grange (the unused dog-leg) instead of the Civic as well as the Job Centre, Compass Housing and a creche so that mother's can have a bit of peace while they're shopping so they don't feel a need to shove pasties in their gobs to shut the little darlings up! How about an Art Gallery and a load more activities/exhibitions in the main square? And how about a giant screen to display News 24 or Football Matches to keep the blokes entertained like they have in Manchester and Glasgow?

How about a 'throw tomatoes at Mark Ryecraft' day?

[Stig of the Seaton Dump]

The 60s concept of shopping centres is dead
Not if you go to Eldon Square, it is full of workers spending their wages on up market goods seven days a week.
Hartlepool shopping centre is geared more towards the unemployed, minimum wage type of person which sums up HBC's direction too.

I've said it before, I even have to shop out of town for my child's school shoes as Clarks are ALWAYS out of her size.
Never mind if we fancy something a bit special or a treat. No hope of parting with our money in Hartlepool.

If you think it is parking that puts people off Hartlepool then look how much it costs to park for the day in York, Newcastle, Durham etc.
It is not difficult to part with up to £10 for a day out shopping.

Shopping in Hartlepool in the '70s was with it and fashionable and it was all down hill after that.

I've often heard the 'boro described as being down at heel and just compare how vibrant that place is compared to Hartlepool !