9 comment(s):

• If memory serves correctly, when Nat West, the penultimate bank, closed in the village, Midland (as I think it still was at that time), made a pledge that they would stay.
  A few strategically placed bollards should foil the occasional JCB.
  
  But I suppose it's case of "that was then, this is now".
  
  Between the lack of parking , and the lack of a bank, theres not much going for local business.
  
  

  By  Anonymous, at 5:09 pm  

• We hardly ever see a time when there is no queue at that cash point - and the queue inside the bank to put money in is usually unbearable - they need more staff there surely.
  
  It worries me that part of the reason for closure is the loss of trade following the demolition of Warburton Hey estate - maybe it seems, to some distant decision-makers, that Rainhill is an area that's declining. Just how wrong can they get it?
  
  Thank you to our local councillors for their support and agreement to do something about this. I hope you'll let us know your action plan - I'm sure most local people will get involved. Hopefully Mr Woodward MP will be there too.
  
  

  By  Anonymous, at 8:18 pm  

• I wonder if you could consider setting up a web-based petition? It could be used in conjunction with the paper-based one mentioned in this blog entry. I suspect that more people would have an opportunity to 'sign' an online petition, so it would potentially help to increase the overall number of people being recorded as opposed to this closure. Just a thought.
  
  Personally, I'm certainly against closing our only local bank.
  
  

  By  Anonymous, at 12:45 pm  

• See this Telegraph story:
  
  http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/banksandfinance/3776155/Bernard-Madoff-British-financial-groups-exposure-to-US-fraud-close-to-1.4bn.html
  
  HSBC has lost one billion dollars in this financial scandal, as usual the 'little people' suffer when costs are cut.
  
  

  By  Anonymous, at 12:34 am  

• If action is not take Rainhill Village will be a GHOST VILLAGE the shops and restaurants will all be closed and we will be left with boarded up shops etc is this what we want ? A lot of what is happening is down to the car parking issue if we had an hours free parking to enable people to at least use the bank but this issue now seems to have been forgotton.
  
  

  By  Anonymous, at 11:36 am  

• Thank you for your comments. Your councillors know that lack of parking in the village is a real concern. We have been desperate to try and find a solution to this. Last year we met with the Village businesses and their concerns are the same - lack of parking provision leads to less customers.
  
  Mike, Cllr. Doyle, wrote to both the Commercial and the Victoria to see if they were willing to open up their car parks for genuine short stay shoppers. He did not get replies to his letters.
  
  The shops in Dane Court complained to their landlords that customers were unable to park because all the spaces were occupied by Rail customers who were shopping in Liverpool or Manchester. Hence the solution by their landlord to charge car fees on Dane Court for a maximum of 2 hours.
  
  We fully understand that drivers are unwilling to pay parking charges for maybe 10 minutes shopping for a newspaper or chocolates or sweets.
  
  We have not forgotten and are still trying to find extra parking provision.
  
  

  By  Cllr. Steve Glover, at 5:19 pm  

• Thank you for your reply I have attended the meetings in the past re parking in the village as myself and husband are residents in Rainhill and my daughters have a business there hence the concern for the village to be viable. As I pointed out at one of the meetings Stockton Heath allow free parking for 2 hours which would be more than enough time to shop etc in the village but not enough time for people to park and use the train to go into Liverpool. Again the residents of Rainhill are penalised for the people using the train. I agree people using the train and parking their car for long periods should pay to park. We must have a way forward with parking and a cash machine in the village although this would not help banking for the business's. People must work together for the survival of the village not burying their heads in the sand and shopping elsewhere
  
  

  By  Anonymous, at 2:30 pm  

• Do you have an update on the cash machine crisis in the village and the over zealous council parking attendants. We do not appear to have had any further communication from any of the councillors since the election when they asked for our votes.
  
  

  By  Anonymous, at 12:19 pm  

• We (councillors and our MP) did arrange a meeting with senior officials from HSBC and that meeting took place on February 16th 2009. A very senior figure came up from London especially to represent the bank. They were adamant that the provision they provided at present was not sustainable and the branch would close.
  
  Much discussion then took place on the possible provision of a "Hole in the Wall" to be positioned in a site within the village centre. They again re-iterated that costs would be prohibitive and they could not justify the ongoing expense of maintaining a machine.
  
  There was an indication that some "One Off" money may be available from the bank to benefit the local community in some way. We are continuing to meet with them to explore how we can best utilise any money that may be available.
  
  Whilst our opposition suggested that they were campaigning for the local Post Office to provide a site for an ATM, the officials of HSBC said the site was a non starter. The shop interior is far too cramped (and many residents wanted a service outside post office hours), and an exterior wall position would be prone to serious criminal activity - one of the reasons that HSBC gave for their recent branch closure.
  
  

  By  Cllr. Steve Glover, at 10:09 am  

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