My local railway station is about a mile and a quarter from any main habitation and is situated out in the open country. I always thought it a bit strange that all the country lanes in walking distance from the station had double yellow lines on both sides of the road. Go more than a mile and you’ll never see double yellows anywhere.
Anyhoo. The station has a large car park that charges the princely sum of £5.50 per day to catch an expensive train to London. If for instance you commute for 48 weeks of the year it’ll cost you the princely sum of £1,320 to park your motor.
However a local entrepreneur came up with a clever solution to make money and deny it to the owners of the station car park.
The solution was to buy a large field and get planning for allotments. Of course he charges the allotment holders a rent of £500 per year. Rip of, you say. Well, actually no. Because the crux of the matter is that each allotment holder has a dedicated parking space!
It means that if you’re a keen gardener you can save £820 per year.
Mind you, I find it quite strange to see cars leaving the allotments in the evening with the owners dressed in suits. Obviously very up market gardeners.
The station car park would seem the ideal place to drop off a large consignment of manure. For the allotments, of course.
ReplyDeleteAt Epping, the northern extremity of the Central Line, the meagre car park is usually full by about 07:30 on a weekday.
ReplyDeleteUntil a few years ago, overspill could easily & safely be accommodated via on-street parking about ½ mile away. Then the idiots at Epping Forest District Council decided to redecorate both sides of all local roads with two stripes in RAL 9017.
http://www.ralcolor.com
That's cheap compared with 7oaks, where's it's approx £8 per day! And there's a waiting list for those wishing to throw away their money.
ReplyDeleteIf two or more shared taxis, they could more cheaply leave their cars at home.
My mother in law lives near one oak station. (remember the hurricane decimated six of the oaks on the vine?). She has a dedicated car parking space at her protected flat. Maybe I could rent it out for her for a fiver per day.
DeleteGreat post. Don't you just love entrepreneurs! Officialdom will never win!
ReplyDeleteBloody expensive down there.
ReplyDelete