Been a while since I posted one of these, but it would be a shame if the 'Citizen' deleted them, particularly now they've scrapped the letters page. So many people have died over the past five years, while being denied a voice.
Fears Gloucester will turn into 'ghost town' amid huge parking charge hikeConversation
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westgatetrader99
3 DAYS AGO
Have traded in Gloucester city for 40+ years and Westgate for 7. From feedback we have received from visitors/customers as a result of this decision the council should expect
1 - Fewer people coming into the city
2 - More 'working from home' days as employers who currently re-imburse staff parking chose to reduce their own costs.
3 - More visitors/customers shunning council car parks altogether in favour of cheekily taking advantage of 2/3 hour free parking at say Asda/Tesco's/Dunelm/Quays surface, and just walking to the town for a quick bit of shopping. This is already happening!
None of these 3 options actually helps the council or the city traders. We are are sick of hearing about re-purposing, re-evaluating, re-modelling, re-generating, etc. etc. , particularly from voices who know very little of how retail/service/hospitality actually works . Many city centre independent businesses are already in survival mode and this just pushes them further to the brink.
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sunny22
3 DAYS AGO
Not daft are they, bringing in permits imminently to park in Kingsholm and the surrounding areas so you're pushing people who park and walk into work to either use public transport (which is for many, a terrible service) or to pay for parking which you're potentially putting up. That's on top of the Council tax rise. Just hitting the tax payer in the pocket again. Brilliant.
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Johnboy99
5 DAYS AGO
Hasn’t this Tory councillor been charged yet with animal cruelty and for running an illegal puppy farm ,or has the links found between Ali and the sawn off shot guns and the stolen dogs found in Naas lane less than half a mile from his own home been uncovered yet
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BishopHooper
5 DAYS AGO
Reply to Johnboy99
Boom!
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REP18
4 DAYS AGO
Reply to Johnboy99
Not to mention breaking covid rules meeting strangers to sell these puppies, using charity as face to make money from Ukraine war (not declared) and last but least his conduct has been found wrong on numerous accounts and just receives a telling off!!!
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Robl
5 DAYS AGO
Gloucester has been a mess since the 1970's. Poor planning had been the cause. I lived in Gloucester for many years but never shopped there I would go to Cheltenham instead. I have thought Gloucester a ghost town for years not just recently.
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dp69
5 DAYS AGO
Ah the genius idea of letting a council go off and buy retail parks etc...because councillors really understand the commercial property market don't they?
I mean what could go wrong?
Wouldn't surprise me if they were bought using borrowings without fixing or a decent rate swap in place.
Wonder how much this will cost the council tax payer?
The flashy warehouse (and other new) offices largely empty no doubt due to working from home.
Genius idea, let's hike parking and put people off coming in. Let's also throw millions up the wall with the awful Kings Square redevelopment. And I know, let's go radical with Debenhams.. I'm sure it'll all be fine...
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Joreal
5 DAYS AGO
Gloucester is as good as a ghost town, charity shops, empty shops and the loss of Debenhams, if I want to go shopping I go to Cheltenham which has much better shops
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jas41
5 DAYS AGO
Reply to Joreal
Funnily enough the number of people going to Cheltenham Town centre is 10% down on pre-covid levels but numbers going into Gloucester city centre are up. Source: Placemake.io
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janle
5 DAYS AGO
NO PARKING NO COMMERCE IT MEANS THE DEATH OF A CITY, ALSO THE RISE IN HOUSE TAXES TO OFF SET THE RETAIL TAX LOSS, SOME PEOPLE WHO GRAB POWER AT THE CITY LEVEL WILL ALWAYS CHOOSE THEIR POLITICAL BELIEFS OVER WHATS BEST FOR ALL,
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Paulus17
5 DAYS AGO
No decent music shops in Gloucester (Still prefer cd's to rubbish MP3). No real alternative clothes shops. Disused shops, rubbish on the streets. No decent live music venues anymore. Why shop in Gloucester when there is Bristol City, Cribbs or Cardiff? Apart from the fantastic cathedral there is nothing in Glos really. Such a shame.
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Nuuk
5 DAYS AGO
Reply to Paulus17
Forget Bristol City with their ULEZ charge. Prefer Cheltenham.
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Brexiteer1
5 DAYS AGO
Reply to Nuuk
Aren't the parking charges higher in Cheltenham?
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Nuuk
5 DAYS AGO
Reply to Brexiteer1
Slightly, yes. Though there is the option of using the park and ride. The shops in Cheltenham are always welcoming and the restaurants/cafes delightful. Gloucester seems very seedy and the only thing it has is the wonderful Cathedral,
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Brexiteer1
5 DAYS AGO
Reply to Nuuk
The park and ride in Cheltenham depends on the roads being clear so not that great, having also spent a lot of time working in Cheltenham all I can say in saying the food venues in Cheltenham are delightful and Gloucester is seedy just shows what kind of venues you inhabit and at what time of day.
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Nuuk
5 DAYS AGO
Reply to Paulus17
I expect you've forgotten the old adage of "customers make pay day possible". Cheltenham not Gloucester for myself, family and friends. I shall ignore your patronising remark with its lack of punctuation thus for you, showing a woeful lack of intelligence.
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Lofty42
5 DAYS AGO
Tipical of council to put up parking charges.Knock down a large multi store cat park build a hoteland charge guests to patk. The traffic wardens will be rubbing their hands. As cnll Chambers says it is turning into a ghost city.I live on the number 13 routeand you have to leave the city at 2.05pm unable to stay any longer to shop or dine.No wonder shops are closing.
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less
5 DAYS AGO
Reply to Lofty42
I used to live in Abbeymead so I know what you mean. At least I could catch the number 8. I have never understood why the 13 didn’t run till at least 6pm to give people chance to get home from work.
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Brexiteer1
5 DAYS AGO
Reply to Lofty42
We need an integrated public transport system that's owned by us, we can't currently maintain the roads we have and yet they want to build more! Reduce speed limits and number of lanes, remove traffic lights and traffic will flow better and average journey times will decrease with less miles of roads needed lowering costs to the taxpayer! It will also save lives!
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TrollhunterX
6 DAYS AGO
At least there's more chance of a follow-up on this story than there is of the 'paper' harking back to how Deepbed Limited are doing withy their lease of the Olympus Theatre, almost two years later. Seems like the building continues to rot, including those 450 free seats donated by the Theatre Royal in London.
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Brexiteer1
5 DAYS AGO
Reply to TrollhunterX
Barton Street needs a redesign putting people first and cars second, the pollution level there are off the scale! I remember when Barton Street used to have more quality shops and places to eat and drink, by making the street for the people the place would become a lot more successful bringing people in from the wider area.
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citron
5 DAYS AGO
Reply to Brexiteer1
I'm sorry but I wouldn't shop in Barton St. if everything was free. I value my safety.
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Brexiteer1
5 DAYS AGO
Reply to citron
Citron, why would you not be safe? There is crime everywhere but some is more reported than others, remember most crime reported is either in the Gloucester (even when it isn't), Outside (/just) Gloucester or Gloucestershire! The last two are normally Tewksbury or Cheltenham but that doesn't fit with Reach PLC's agenda! (I feel a ban incoming)
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Royston Crazy
6 DAYS AGO
Bands won’t play no more
Too much fighting on the dance floor.
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citron
5 DAYS AGO
Reply to Royston Crazy
If they won't play no more, then they must be starting to play again.
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TrollhunterX
5 DAYS AGO
Reply to citron
Stop making sense!
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Royston Crazy
5 DAYS AGO
Reply to citron
It’s the lyrics from Ghost Town by the Specials. Never mind 🙄
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Brexiteer1
6 DAYS AGO
The Irony here is that it's the council allowing all the "out of town" developments with 3 hours free parking that have caused this problem along with the decimation of public transport.
What happened to the trams? They were ripped out in a massive act of infrastructure vandalism for cars, we are a few years behind north America but we are headed that way and it's bankrupting cities there. We are falling for the suburban ponsi scheme where we are relying on the new builds tax revenues to maintain the current infrastructure, what happens when their roads need repairing in 20-25 years time, where will the money for that come from? More new housing or higher taxation?
The road system around Gloucester is already at capacity and one small accident or some road works and the city is gridlock (over 1/2hr to do less than 500m on Bristol road the other evening) .
All the suburbs have also been built so you need a car or two and because of their design often make the introduction of public transport too expensive or even impossible. Maybe we should be demanding that all new housing developments should take into account full public transport.
Just imagine what a clean frequent fast tram from places like Quedgely, Kingsway, Podsmead, Heamstead, Tuffly to the city center would be like? Even a new station serving Kingsway that could be on the Bristol Metro like Gloucester? For that matter why not work towards quading the line from Cheltenham to Standish Junction to increase capacity, most of the route used to be 4 tracks?
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Resonable
6 DAYS AGO
The irony is that increasing parking fees to increase income won't happen. Income will reduce as fewer come into town and more shops go broke. The remedy is actually the exact opposite. Slash parking costs, increase footfall, enable shops to operate in profit and increase council income. Just how dumb do you have to be if you cannot see that?
?
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citron
5 DAYS AGO
Reply to Resonable
Yep, a lesson that socialists refuse to learn with taxation. The more you try to steal from peoples' pockets, the lower the nett collection will be.
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Brexiteer1
5 DAYS AGO
Reply to Resonable
No it's not, I drive into town when I'm working there as carry too many tools. If the parking was too cheap it would be filled with people parking all day. I leave at lunch time and have to pay for a full day as I arrive (Before the city is open). What is needed and will help the businesses is graduated parking charges to make it cheaper when shops are quieter. For example Saturdays 8:45 till 10 should maybe 1/2 price or even free but you have to enter and leave between these times. The parking we have could be made to work better and used more without upping costs to end users. Drive into Eastgate at 9am it's empty but only starting to fill at 10:30!
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Brexiteer1
5 DAYS AGO
Reply to citron
My point, use it more and you don't have to increase costs to users! #strongtowns
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Resonable
5 DAYS AGO
Reply to Brexiteer1
Filling the centre with people is the whole idea, and cheaper parking would do that. Shops would thrive and one way or another the council coffers would swell. All very well you working in town and having a few problems when it's crowded but if it's not crowded you won't have a job to go into town for will you? It will die.
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Brexiteer1
5 DAYS AGO
Reply to Resonable
Resonable Crowded for a couple of hours is not good but relaxed and busy throughout the day is! We want a city that is the third place where you can sit and have a coffee, a beer or burger after shopping then go home, not feel claustrophobic because everyone is trained to use the city center at the exact same time of day! We all have more we could do to improve where we live, go out and find the name and say hello to that neighbor a few doors down the road that you have a descriptive name for (the builder bloke, the dog walker etc) it can all help. I don't care about the cost of the parking when working as it's covered but am looking for a cargo bike that would save me a small fortune in fuel, parking and even more the time being sat in stationary traffic!
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welshmaningloucester
6 DAYS AGO
Fair play this bloke has a neck. !! What’s next we can have a puppy farm on the cross. As many have said this is not a man to be trusted like asking McDonalds to look after your cow
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BishopHooper
5 DAYS AGO
Reply to welshmaningloucester
Well said! He’s in it for his own self publicity..nothing more. Utterly tragic person.
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truth seeker@gchq
6 DAYS AGO
Gloucester is already a ghost town. The ghosts being English speaking citizens.
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BishopHooper
5 DAYS AGO
Reply to truth seeker@gchq
And there you have it readers… rent-a-racist
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truth seeker@gchq
5 DAYS AGO
Reply to truth seeker@gchq
Yes BH. But I've got 6 thumbs up against your 1.
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Brexiteer1
5 DAYS AGO
Reply to truth seeker@gchq
Because you logged into all 6 of your accounts?
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BishopHooper
5 DAYS AGO
Reply to truth seeker@gchq
‘Ooooh I’ve got more likes than you… ‘ do you know how utterly pathetic you sound?
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Eeyore Donkey
5 DAYS AGO
Reply to truth seeker@gchq
Totally agree, went into town yesterday, first time in years and thought I was abroad!
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Johnsy503
6 DAYS AGO
Don’t forget that these councillors need to increase parking fees to cover increases in their allowances.
They should look at my local council , North Lincolnshire, which is our higher unity council. Not only no increase in council tax, they have all car parks free for the first two hours , and all day Saturday and Sunday.
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Irvz
6 DAYS AGO
Money seems to be their answer to everything
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bakes
6 DAYS AGO
Hannah Norman must be visiting a different Gloucester City centre to the one I visit!
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less
5 DAYS AGO
Reply to bakes
I agree. Gloucester is no longer a “thriving” city, more like a dead city. The only redeeming feature is the cathedral.
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BishopHooper
5 DAYS AGO
Reply to less
Gloucester is on the up….. according to the Tories… ahem
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less
5 DAYS AGO
Reply to BishopHooper
Haha! And we all know how many lies they tell!
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onestepbeyond
6 DAYS AGO
With out of town shopping centres where it's free to park to load up the shopping, what's the purpose of a town/city centre where you can do neither? Either charge for out of town shopping expecially if they try to park a few minutes before 6pm, or make town/city parking free.
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ktgl03
6 DAYS AGO
Is any more evidence required to confirm that Gloucester City Council is run by total idiots. Increases to anything which will discourage people from visiting the city is utterly ridiculous. 6 months after the increase they will try to justify the increase by showing it was necessary to protect revenue after parking numbers fell off 'for no obvious reason'.
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l0l
6 DAYS AGO
Has ex-Tory Councillor Alastair Chambers thought of opening a pet shop in Gloucester?
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Gimlett
6 DAYS AGO
There was a time when you’d enjoy wandering round the shops of a morning, have a spot of lunch in town and then drive home. Due to time pressures with the parking charges that pleasure stopped.
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CuiousPrioryRoad
6 DAYS AGO
“Some people just want to pop into the shops for an hour, grab some bits and go. But if people have got to pay for two hours that’s going to kill that off."
Wonder what he’ll be having to say about ‘15 minute cities’ then! (when Gloucester Council gives that bad idea the green light).
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jas41
5 DAYS AGO
Reply to CuiousPrioryRoad
Why is a 15 minute city a bad idea?
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10smartlittle Soilders
6 DAYS AGO
There is very little to go into Gloucester for ! So many empty shops and little of interest in those shops that are surviving. The whole centre is run down and second rate.
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CuiousPrioryRoad
6 DAYS AGO
Reply to 10smartlittle Soilders
I know more than one family that chooses to drive in from Stroud (to visit various specialty grocery shops, from Barton St to the ‘gates’ to Bristol Road), just to enjoy a family day out, have a bite at the docks, visit Eastgate Market and drop in on friends.
I think where I live (near the cathedral, bottom of Westgate) although a traditionally ‘depressed’ area has shown marked improvement (both visually - thanks to extensive renovation of multiple shop fronts, businesses and facades - and in terms of ‘choice’) since moving here in 2019.
New cafes quirky shops…quirky pubs - look at the Crown - it’s not run down - and even the barbers has had a revamp.
So I find your comment (just a little bit) harsh! Gloucester, (in my view - for all its faults) is still worth a shot
But (the guy is right - whatever else he might be wrong about) that inflating parking charges right now (not to mention rubber stamping unscrupulous maggots and their ‘revenue raising’ car park scams) won’t help our city business models out - not one little bit…
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ktgl03
6 DAYS AGO
Reply to CuiousPrioryRoad
Quirky pubs and cafes, but no shops.
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CuiousPrioryRoad
6 DAYS AGO
Reply to ktgl03
Well I like the Brush shop, and the candle shop next door to it - and 14 for ‘last minute gifts’
All toward the bottom of Westgate. My point being that (given the shambles that has been made if our economy lately through ‘no control of our own’) The bottom end of Westgate us showing a few signs of (dare I say it) … ‘levelling up’!!
(Not short of nail bars, vape shops and hairdressers either, it has to be said 😉
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10smartlittle Soilders
6 DAYS AGO
Reply to 10smartlittle Soilders
I have lived on the outskirts of Gloucester for forty five years and remember it as a thriving city with many shops and interests. I am greatly saddened by its current state. The fact that some choose to drive from Stroud to Gloucester is no recommendation, but each to their own.
I do believe there are moves to improve the Westgate area, which is positive and I look forward to the outcome. With regard to quirky shops, I haven’t come across many. Pubs, cafes and restaurants are fine, but the city can only support so many ! The Cathedral area is lovely and to some extent the jewel in Gloucester’s crown.
Your positive attitude is commendable but it hasn’t convinced me, I see it as run down, with little to encourage me to go into Gloucester.
One can only hope, that once the hugely expensive Kings Quarter is complete, that the council will look to improve the city centre.
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ktgl03
6 DAYS AGO
Reply to CuiousPrioryRoad
I should have said a lack of mainstream shops to attract people to the city in the first place. Few people will come specifically to visit the lower end of Westgate Street unless heading for the Cathedral. It's very rare for us to spend more than an hour in town now, and our visits will become even more infrequent when the cost of parking effectively doubles with the minimum charge being for 2 hours. How long the specialist shops will be able to last with ever decreasing footfall is anybody's guess.
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jas41
5 DAYS AGO
Reply to 10smartlittle Soilders
The King's Quarter is in the city centre
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10smartlittle Soilders
5 DAYS AGO
Reply to jas41
Yes I realise that. When I say the city centre, I mean the four roads off the cross.
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jas41
4 DAYS AGO
Reply to 10smartlittle Soilders
Can you suggest a more effective way of bringing more life to the gate streets than bringing more people in?
The combination of the 4 star hotel, hundreds of additional office workers based at The Forum/King's Quarter and several thousand students & Uni staff should make a huge difference to the gate streets and help attract businesses
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10smartlittle Soilders
4 DAYS AGO
Reply to jas41
Certainly bringing more people in will help. I don’t however, imagine students will have vast amounts of disposable income. Also a four star hotel will only succeed if Gloucester is an attractive city to visit. The gate streets are currently far from attractive. The jewel in the crown is the Cathedral and a super place to visit.
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thx1139
6 DAYS AGO
He's absolutely right, it's asinine.
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BishopHooper
6 DAYS AGO
GL Why is it that when someone mentions the crime this man pleaded guilty to which is not against the site rules, you remove the comment? Are you trying to whitewash him for some reason?
He is not a man to be trusted.
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REP18
6 DAYS AGO
Reply to BishopHooper
I always intrigued when he wasn’t brought up for breaking covid rules, whilst everyone was staying home to keep the community safe, he was meeting strangers selling them puppies!!!
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ratrunner
6 DAYS AGO
No problem for me gave up going into Gloucester years ago would rather drive to Cribbs and stay as long as you want, even spend half a day there and free parking.
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REP18
6 DAYS AGO
This bloke really is pot kettle black. Not exactly a pillar in the community!!
Don’t vote for this man!!!
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