So, Stewart thinks that having the facility to park more than two cars off the street should invoke an increase in tax. Why? What about the hazards parked cars present to children? Or the potential clogging of smaller roads? Or coming home only to find that you can't park outside your own home? It is a fact of life that a substantial number of homes have two or more cars nowadays. It is far safer and secure to park on a driveway or in a garage than to leave them on the road side. Why do you think insurance premiums are lower if parked off road?
I agree that new installations should be laid in a way to aid drainage but to suggest that an increase in tax for drives able to house more than two cars is, quite frankly, ridiculous.
I agree. Council tax is calculated according to property size/value, so the size of the driveway/parking space is already subject to tax.
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
hey don't we all pay car tax anyway, but I agree that cars should really be parked on a driveway ,one they don't get damaged 2 for the safety of children ... okay in some cases its in possible to have a drive because of the place that your living in it may be in a country lane or a built up area , I have gravel on mine so the drainage is not broken or blocked through damage.... the issue I have is the council have had cyclist path done all over the place and do they use them not here they peddle away quite happily on the road at busy times , headphones on and no helmet for protection , I ask you what going on when I ride a bike I use the path not the road , I cringe when I see them, please please use the path provided cyclists
Im glad to have been the instigator of such a lively debate and yes we do have a car and standing for another, But what I do object to is people moving into an area and turning the whole garden into a feature less car park. with all the modern planters that are available there is no excuse.SO if you want a car park pay for it.
So, Stewart, your objection is not based on environmental/land drainage issues, it's based on what you perceive people should do with their own gardens.
Get a grip on yourself and leave people to make their own choices, whether those choices are made for practical or aesthetic reasons.
Sorry annmarie2 but I strongly disagree about cycle paths, they are much more dangerous to regular cyclists than cycling on the road. When I used to commute 15 miles by bike I had a choice between off road cyclepath and roads running almost parallel to each other.
On the cyclepath I had constant hazards from broken glass (its where the yobbos go to drink at night), from pedestrians who change direction randomly without thinking that there might be a bike approaching on the shared cyclepath (and no, a warning shout, horn or bell doesn't help, it almost guarantees they will turn into your path and stop to see what is going on), worse still are the dog walkers who use those reel leads and set them up across the path as near invisible trip wires ,dogs are great - the people with them are generally idiots - even when a dog is off the lead aware of the bike and staying clear many dog walkers seeing a bike approach will call the dog to them across the path of a bike....
That's without mentioning the varying surface conditions, some sections were almost unrideable in heavy rain, and the fact that unless they are on old railways or canal paths, cycle paths are constantly stopping to cross roads, often via complex barriers that either force you to get off or weave through very slowly (presumably to prevent cars and motorbikes using the paths).
My commute was much faster and very much safer on the main road where the tarmac is generally better (although not great), where I could ride at a sensible speed without having to alter course for pedestrians and animals, where, because I was riding in accordance with the highway code (don't get me started on those red light running idiots or the ones who hop on and off the kerb) cars were able to treat me the same as any other traffic - at times they may have felt held up, but most of the route was on roads easily large enough for a car and cycle to pass, even a lorry and cycle.
On the cycle paths I had a near miss almost every day, on the road I have only ever had 2 near misses, both with buses which deliberately cut me up - no they weren't pulling into bus stops, one of them was out of service and returning to the depot.
Cycle paths are OK for occasional cyclists with no road sense who go very slowly, indeed they really should be off the roads for their own safety, but please don't assume that every cyclist who uses the road is wrong, even though there are some who don't use helmets or listen to music instead of picking up vital audio clues from traffic, for many of us the road is the right place to cycle.
What I can't understand is cyclists who carry babies on the back or even worse have them on a little trailer dragging behind. If they want to risk their own lives for the greater good of the planet, fine but to risk their children's lives is irresponsible.
Posts
I agree. Council tax is calculated according to property size/value, so the size of the driveway/parking space is already subject to tax.
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
hey don't we all pay car tax anyway, but I agree that cars should really be parked on a driveway ,one they don't get damaged 2 for the safety of children ... okay in some cases its in possible to have a drive because of the place that your living in it may be in a country lane or a built up area , I have gravel on mine so the drainage is not broken or blocked through damage.... the issue I have is the council have had cyclist path done all over the place and do they use them not here they peddle away quite happily on the road at busy times , headphones on and no helmet for protection , I ask you what going on when I ride a bike I use the path not the road , I cringe when I see them, please please use the path provided cyclists
Im glad to have been the instigator of such a lively debate and yes we do have a car and standing for another, But what I do object to is people moving into an area and turning the whole garden into a feature less car park. with all the modern planters that are available there is no excuse.SO if you want a car park pay for it.
So, Stewart, your objection is not based on environmental/land drainage issues, it's based on what you perceive people should do with their own gardens.
Get a grip on yourself and leave people to make their own choices, whether those choices are made for practical or aesthetic reasons.
the short answer to that if you don't want a garden don't buy one . by the way yours looks nice
In no way take it up ! but a few well placed tubs and urns, planted up perhaps in a way suggested in Gardeners World would only serve to enhance it.
But that's very subjective - not everyone has the same tastes and preferences.
It gives the impression that everyone else's garden should conform to your taste and not that of the owner of the land
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
Sorry annmarie2 but I strongly disagree about cycle paths, they are much more dangerous to regular cyclists than cycling on the road. When I used to commute 15 miles by bike I had a choice between off road cyclepath and roads running almost parallel to each other.
On the cyclepath I had constant hazards from broken glass (its where the yobbos go to drink at night), from pedestrians who change direction randomly without thinking that there might be a bike approaching on the shared cyclepath (and no, a warning shout, horn or bell doesn't help, it almost guarantees they will turn into your path and stop to see what is going on), worse still are the dog walkers who use those reel leads and set them up across the path as near invisible trip wires ,dogs are great - the people with them are generally idiots - even when a dog is off the lead aware of the bike and staying clear many dog walkers seeing a bike approach will call the dog to them across the path of a bike....
That's without mentioning the varying surface conditions, some sections were almost unrideable in heavy rain, and the fact that unless they are on old railways or canal paths, cycle paths are constantly stopping to cross roads, often via complex barriers that either force you to get off or weave through very slowly (presumably to prevent cars and motorbikes using the paths).
My commute was much faster and very much safer on the main road where the tarmac is generally better (although not great), where I could ride at a sensible speed without having to alter course for pedestrians and animals, where, because I was riding in accordance with the highway code (don't get me started on those red light running idiots or the ones who hop on and off the kerb) cars were able to treat me the same as any other traffic - at times they may have felt held up, but most of the route was on roads easily large enough for a car and cycle to pass, even a lorry and cycle.
On the cycle paths I had a near miss almost every day, on the road I have only ever had 2 near misses, both with buses which deliberately cut me up - no they weren't pulling into bus stops, one of them was out of service and returning to the depot.
Cycle paths are OK for occasional cyclists with no road sense who go very slowly, indeed they really should be off the roads for their own safety, but please don't assume that every cyclist who uses the road is wrong, even though there are some who don't use helmets or listen to music instead of picking up vital audio clues from traffic, for many of us the road is the right place to cycle.
Very good point Boater re, red light jumpers and pavement users, let's not forget the " I'm on a bike, so this one way sign doesn't apply to me"
Make all cyclists take out insurance would be a good start too.