Marjorie Simpson
Working Hard for Yarm
Yarm High Street
Photo Copyright D Thomas - Sandaz Jomes Images 2007
Although there is an enormous car park in Yarm High Street we have often thought that although there is an abundance of motor cars there does not seem to be an abundance of people walking on the High Street. Shops are not full although Boyes do have more customers than other shops but even they are not bulging at the seams with customers.
YIA decided to test the water and investigated available car parking at the rear of premises. Strickland and Holt appear to have mainly staff parking with very few customer car parking spaces. Behind The Hide is always full and we are told this is mainly shop staff. There is also an enormous private car parking site in this area that is greatly under used. Surely with some persuasion this huge area could be redesigned for a long stay area which would still leave enough space for residents parking.
The free all day parking areas (residents parking) at each end of the High Street are usually taken by business staff before 8am. There was a move by the Chamber of Trade to cancel residents parking and have it included in the two hour parking zone. YIA would never have agreed to this happening as residents should be allowed to have some parking area which is still at a premium. We are also aware that when residents leave early morning they are sometimes unable to park in the all day parking area until 6pm. Parking your car as a resident is a ritual that takes place each evening they do not have the pleasure of a private drive which most business people will return home to.
The Chamber of Trade would like to have three hour parking to serve those people who come into Yarm to shop, lunch and maybe visit the hairdressers.
YIA councillors ( Chris Neil and Marjorie Simpson) visited Stockton Borough Council Officers in March 2009 to discuss various aspects of parking in Yarm.
Officers were not keen to implement the three hour parking as a consultation of Yarm residents had shown that a large percentage of those consulted were not in favour of this option.. We asked for a trial run of three months but officers were not willing to waste council taxpayers money on expensive traffic orders and cancellations. Latterly our new MP is saying that he has arranged for the three hour parking to take place but unfortunately he spoke to those who were unable to deliver from a political perspective.
Heavy Goods Vehicle travelling through Yarm has been a hobby horse of one of our councillors for some years. In past surveys beginning 1976 a 12 hour traffic flow was 15000 of which 1941 was HGVs. In 2007 12hr traffic flow was 16621 of which 311 were HGVs. An origin and destination survey undertaken during 2009 showed that there was a total of 129 HGVs accessing Yarm High Street from the north or south during the survey 98 (76% ) required legitimate access to the central Yarm area, and therefore would be exempt from any subsequent weight restrictions were it to be implemented. The remaining 31 vehicles (24%) therefore utilised Yarm High Street as a through route over the nine hour survey.
In Jan 2009 Total HGVs in a 12 hr flow was 157 and from previous figures most of these would be genuine access vehicles..
The police have been consulted regarding the possible introduction of an environmental weight restriction on Yarm High Street. They have confirmed that it would place an unreasonably large enforcement burden on their staffing resources due to the high percentage of vehicles requiring genuine access. It is therefore recommended not to process a weight restriction on Yarm High Street
Although we have not had complaints from residents we are told that HGVs pass through Yarm after midnight in convoy and disturb residents. If this is a problem please let us know..
Crime in Yarm
All crime figures over the years have shown that Yarm has a very low crime rate and when compared with say Stockton Centre we do not have a problem. Yet local councillors are trying to say differently making an excuse of CCTV/ If Stockton Borough Council and the police really want Yarm to have CCTV then we think they should pay for it and not expect a small Town Council to pay large amounts out to save police time or even give the impression that Yarm is an area where there are Dodge City pursuits on a regular basis.
You will note Chris Neil’s comment on the home page stating that late night drinking should never have taken place in Yarm. The Licensing Committee should have heeded the advice of the police to have all pubs and clubs close at 12 midnight. Landlords are particular about their clientele and employ doormen to ensure their establishments meet the criteria required to maintain their untarnished reputation whilst ensuring that all bandits are suitably censored and unable to gain further access.
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Yarm High Street Refurbishment
SBC Officers were persuaded by Marjorie to search for funding for new footpaths, trees and lamp standards for the High Street. At the beginning of 2005 an amount of £57000 was made available for this project from various funding sources. However, after May 2005 it was reported that this funding was no longer available to Yarm. The last that was heard by the Town Council was that efforts would be made by SBC officers to reapply and hopefully this will come to fruition in line with the refurbishment of the Town Hall.
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