EARLY ONE MORNING.........................
Liberal Democrat Councillor for Stansted North on Uttlesford District Council and former Leader of the Liberal Democrat Group Learn more
by Alan Dean on 17 February, 2015
Patients will be provided with dedicated parking at Stansted’s long-awaited health centre after all. 🙂
This was confirmed yesterday at a meeting I chaired with representatives from the GP practice and district and parish councils. Thirty-three spaces at the Lower Street car park will be marked out for the health centre. Roughly half will be for medical and administrative staff and a similar number will be available for patients.
So despite earlier reports that parking for patients would be more difficult and costly at Lower Street than at the present St. John’s Road surgery, it should be better. This also means that most patients will not have to compete with commuters, shoppers and local workers for a place to park; and they won’t have to pay to see the doctor.
Future discussions will take place with the Stansted Business Forum on the wider issue of the adequacy of car parking in and around Stansted’s Lower Street.
Finally, the second good news we were given yesterday is that today is the day when the lease on the medical centre will be signed by local doctors, putting the new centre on track for coming into service in the middle of 2016. 🙂
Update: Here is the Herts and Essex Observer story on the lease go-ahead and the car parking deal.
22 Comments
Well done, Alan! There’s clearly been some muddle-headed thinking over this issue which has caused a lot of consternation, and the matter probably would not have got sorted without your intervention. Sometimes one has to, figuratively, knock heads together to get folk thinking in straight lines.
Good news. Are you able to confirm whether any consideration is being given to longer opening hours to cater for those who work out of the area and leave/arrive before/after the surgery is closed for non-emergency appointments? By example, the latest non-emergency appointment yesterday was 3pm, most are still at work at that time.
The doctor said yesterday that the question of longer hours is under consideration, though not yet decided.
Congratulations Alan, credit where it’s due 🙂
Where is credit due? There’s been a community campaign for the health centre and lobbying for parking. But you didn’t think patient parking was important anyway. You said: “I do not consider that free parking is an important component of GP surgical provision”.
Why don’t you find something useful to do instead of being an annoying, provocative nuisance. It may come as a surprise to your massive sense of self-importance but most people could care less about your views on anything.
Nice.
At the end of the day, despite all the wordy dexterity and argumentiveness, just a troll.
Where is the trolling here? I believe what I said was factual and you responded with a personal attack.
I called you a nuisance. That is a fact. You never offer any positive suggestions, just empty criticisms. Troll on. Or put yourself up for election, but that would require some actual effort wouldn’t it?
I’m sorry that Keith is attempting to make this another mud-slinging exercise when we should be celebrating progress on the health centre, but I’m entitled to defend myself when facing his personal attacks on me.
You said “You never offer any positive suggestions, just empty criticisms.” I gave a 300 word response to your party’s manifesto consultation. I used facts and forecasts on council housing need to demonstrate that we need one in four houses built under the Local Plan to be used to meet council housing demand and as part of the 40% affordable housing target. You sneered at the suggestion and your party ignored it and, astonishingly, made no reference to council housing, which is one of UDC’s remits. Fair enough, housing needs are not your party’s interest. But don’t say I haven’t put forward constructive points.
Lib Dem PPC Mike Hibbs and the local Labour Party appeared more sympathetic to the issue of council housing need and agreed that such affordable housing targets were reasonable.
Why should I put myself up for election?
For the record, the Tories suspended your membership of their group for your attitude towards colleagues, you’ve now been twice banned from your new party’s Facebook page for your rudeness towards people (in spite of being its leader) and UDC’s legal officer stated in a letter to me that your personal attacks are “wholly inappropriate”. Maybe you think I am negative, but I have not responded to your abuse in kind. Such behaviour does nothing to enhance debate or accountability. And as a resident, I am entitled to be as critical as I like about the parties contesting elections without being traduced for it.
‘For the record’? You haven’t a clue.
Stick to sniping from the sidelines, you haven’t the guts to actually stand for anything.
‘Personal attacks on you’, oh aren’t we precious. In your little world it seems the criticism can only go one way.
You are pathetic and it’s a pointless exercise continuing any sort of exchange with you.
On the issue of the health centre, many local people are concerned about the lack of GPs. There are presently 2.5 GPs and a patient roll of over 9,000. Can we be assured that the number of GPs will be increased by one before mid-2016? Will greater certainty over the health centre attract a new GP? Some people are waiting many weeks for appointments and there must be a strain on clinicians at the practice.
Why not go away and qualify as a doctor?
Failing that, why not just go away?
Hypocrisy and moral cowardice in the same bundle simply isn’t appealing.
Nice.
What’s nice about moral cowardice and hypocrisy?
You are being ridiculous. Stop now.
You tick all the boxes for a troll. Opinionated,obsessive, agenda-driven, disingenuous, tragic and irrelevant. And in your case, pathetically thin-skinned.
Oh diddums, did some nasty man make cutting remarks about you. If you can’t stand the heat, stop creeping into the kitchen you tedious whinger.
Ridiculous: defined as stupid, unreasonable and deserving to be laughed at. Pot-kettle-black moment.
Life’s too short.
I thought this thread was dead on the 19th and you breathe life into it on the 23rd and tell me to stop…..do you understand the concept of irony?
I HAD stopped. That extended period of no comment from the 19th until today, that was me, stopped.
I would like this blog to concentrate on argument around ideas and their alternatives. The avoidance of personal abuse as opposed to criticism of individuals’ opinions will help the discourse.
Point taken. My apologies. The debate on the council budget amendments has been far better conducted.