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Sunday, 5 June 2011

WEDGE LEFT ON THE LEDGE

Don't just take it from the Dame...at last some truthful research from RBKC, but pleasant reading it does not make. Leaving aside the sheer man hours expended by staff trying to get the Wedge scheme out of severe cardiac arrest, the real money cost of the scheme has been around £200,000 of your money down the drain.
It's been a total flop as the Council research reveals...
 "85 per cent of respondents indicated that they had not used their Wedge Card. The most common reasons cited for not having used the card included not being sure where they can use it (37 per cent) followed by the offers being made not being of interest (33 per cent) and not being sure of the Wedge offers (30 per cent)"
I won't lecture Merrick Cockell on good business practice:it would be wasted, but before risking taxpayer's money in this way it would have been intelligent to undertake some research to determine just want retailers and their customers wanted.
Instead what does Cllr Cockell decide to do? He dramatically increases parking charges and instructs CEO's(traffic wardens to you and I) to hound retailers and their customers so aggressively that shoppers desert the Borough for a more welcoming shopping experience.
As Cllr Cockell's friend, disgraced ex Mayor Barry Phelps would say, 'you could not make it up'!
Posted by the Dame in the

4 comments:

  1. Anonymous5 June 2011 at 01:05

    The "Wedge" card fiasco is typical of RBKC top-down style. Because it was imposed on the public, a basically good idea was doomed to failure from the start. Unfortunately £200,000 is a mere drop in the ocean of such projects & consequent waste.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Mosquito5 June 2011 at 08:29

    No surprises there Hornet, but what a terrible shame. As you say it is the 'little' things like parking that improve visitor experience, and it is the last thing the Council want to improve as they make squillions from it.

    Sorry to say that certain officers are full of 'bright ideas' but don't live in the borough and have no idea what people actually want or need.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Donald Cameron5 June 2011 at 09:50

    I wrote to Cllr Cockell about this scheme advising that there was no chance of success. It was a flawed idea and a flawed business model.

    Of course this failed businessman ignored the advice and instead Cllr Cockell went on a full scale PR exercise trumpeting how much he wanted to help local business.

    K&C should stick to the knitting. Clear the dustbins and look after the parks. Leave business to business people.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Anonymous5 June 2011 at 10:02

    £200,000 of council tax up in smoke. Another puff of smoke in a growing list of fripperies

    And think about all those expensive officers and councillors using time, meetings, facilities, and consultants to dream up this scheme. This is the hidden part of the iceberg in bloated Hornton Street. An administration that is completely off the rails.

    Too many people with not enough to do and too much money (taxpayers money) to spend

    ReplyDelete

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