HMRC - newcastle city centre



Parking. If you look on google earth the office at Benton has massive car parks with thousands of spaces. The new one in the centre of Newcastle cannot have much parking. The staff are going to have to use public transport.
150 spaces only for disabled/special users etc
 
Not on a morning, when the kids are being dropped off and everybody going to work and the same later on. Might not get the parking issues but the congestion might actually be worst.
What if kids walked to their local school and people worked from home?
Same for my wife, back in the office at the Regents Centre and travels from Shields. Fortunately she works shifts and weekends so misses the rush hours but even at 8pm it’s nuts.
Doesn't Shields and the Regent Centre have a metro stop?
 
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What if kids walked to their local school and people worked from home?
Some parents would drive into the playground if they could. Only way is to put barriers up or cameras and fine people. Not everybody can wfh either, doctors, teachers, plumbers list is not quite endless but pretty big. Sure lots of kids would love to walk to school but dont get the opportunity, thrown in the car, shame really.
 
I'm no train expert but I don't think the upgrade is going to solve the 2 major problems of delays, low track adhesion and driver shortage.

If Newcastle City Council want 9,000 extra people coming into the centre and a percentage of them using public transport they may need to dip their hands in their pockets and subsidise the drivers wages so they have enough to cover the service. As you've said the Metro is used as a stepping stone by a lot of train drivers to get into the higher paid train driving jobs. Until this is levelled up it will never go away.

This extra cost can't be passed onto the customer as it already costs pretty much the same per day as travelling in London on an Oyster for a much poorer service. Higher costs could push people into looking for jobs closer to home or to look at WFH.

Low Track Adhesion is purely a train problem with the wheels slipping on wet leaves. Some trains are worse and the Metro trains are some of the worst in the country for it. I'm not sure whether the new trains are having stuff to avoid it but I'd imagine so.

On pricing

Oyster Zone 1-2: £7.20 Per Day / £1,444 Per Year
Oyster Zone 1-4 (which Sunderland would be): £10.40 Per Day / £2,076 Per Year
Metro All Zones: £5.40 Per Day / £695 Per Year
Network One All Zones: N/A Per Day / £1150 Per Year

There's a bit of a difference but I certainly wouldn't be campaigning for Oyster fares up here.
 
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I think it’s wrong to assume football rivalry spills out into local politics. I don’t think it should, for what it’s worth I think Newcastle is a great city although I only visit it once every couple of years for an occasional night out………..but my focus is how to improve Sunderland. This should be a discussion for the people from here and be free of external influences. People shouldn’t mix up people wanting the best for Sunderland is somehow hating Newcastle……it’s not.
If the whole region is to truly progress it shouldn’t have areas so left behind, because this will be a truer reflection of the region
If we want to improve Sunderland, we need to rethink the city centre. Retail is a fraction of what it once was and will only get smaller. We need to stop trying to bring back the past. Moving the college was a good step, but we missed a massive opportunity when they built the new Uni next to the river. We should try to move the people who will always be there into the city. Council/Goverment workers and students. That gives a base for footfall which will support hospitality and then build up from there.

However, we're never going to get 9k workers who are based in Longbenton to make a move to a different city.
 
If we want to improve Sunderland, we need to rethink the city centre. Retail is a fraction of what it once was and will only get smaller. We need to stop trying to bring back the past. Moving the college was a good step, but we missed a massive opportunity when they built the new Uni next to the river. We should try to move the people who will always be there into the city. Council/Goverment workers and students. That gives a base for footfall which will support hospitality and then build up from there.

However, we're never going to get 9k workers who are based in Longbenton to make a move to a different city.
They got however many staff worked at the likes of Gilbridge, Shackleton House and the call centre next to the Royal Mail depot to move to Longbenton and Waterview.

I don’t see the advantage of moving to Newcastle when, for me, one of the aims of the civil service should be to generate employment and other support jobs (like cafes etc) and Sunderland has one of the highest rates of unemployment in the country.
 
Crown court - Durham has one and Sunderland should have one but anyway never been in one and hopefully never will. Regional airport, Ponteland and if it was built tomorrow newcastle would not want jt - noisy polluting places, massive objection to them so Newcastle can have it. Hub for national trains - geographic location and yes impossibe to get to Edinburgh so give you that. Ferry terminal, north shields so thats a no. Largest shopping centre - debateable and anyway nothing newcastle offers that you cant get online. Largest city again open for debate but does not add to your argument about not leaving the place."By far the most visited place" - again does not add to your argument about not leaving the place - unless you want to avoid the pissed up stag and hen lot. Regions arena - moving to Gateshead and sure people can live without seeing Steps or whoever. For me personally I could quite easily avoid Newcastle not because i have anything against it but despite what you say it offers nothing that I need. Yes, the train maybe but last time I went to Edinburgh drove and since covid no need for the airport. Time prior to that, Teesside and Glasgow airports. Saw Jimmy Carr the other week, had he been on in Necastle no bother but as he was on in Sunderland saved a trip. So honestly, I could probably spend my life without ever stepping in newcastle. Work from home and even in office would be Durham - which I love and would opt over newcastle for a few beers or the cinema. Anyway, dont kid yourself that it is the beginning and the end if the world - it isn't, sorry but it really is easy not to go to Newcastle.

I know you're just trying to be clever but the Airport is in Woolsington, Newcastle.
 
What if kids walked to their local school and people worked from home?

Doesn't Shields and the Regent Centre have a metro stop?
As I mentioned she works shifts for a rail company, metro cannot get her to work for a 6:30am start or home on a late shift at 10:30pm
She does use it on the mid shift 8-4pm.
 
Low Track Adhesion is purely a train problem with the wheels slipping on wet leaves. Some trains are worse and the Metro trains are some of the worst in the country for it. I'm not sure whether the new trains are having stuff to avoid it but I'd imagine so.

On pricing

Oyster Zone 1-2: £7.20 Per Day / £1,444 Per Year
Oyster Zone 1-4 (which Sunderland would be): £10.40 Per Day / £2,076 Per Year
Metro All Zones: £5.40 Per Day / £695 Per Year
Network One All Zones: N/A Per Day / £1150 Per Year

There's a bit of a difference but I certainly wouldn't be campaigning for Oyster fares up here.

I think the difference is that with an Oyster card (underground service) you can genuinely give up the car, whereas in the North East we are still likely to have a car in addition to the metro. Also when comparing metro to say zone 1-4 you also have to include possibly bus fairs on top.
 
I think the difference is that with an Oyster card (underground service) you can genuinely give up the car, whereas in the North East we are still likely to have a car in addition to the metro. Also when comparing metro to say zone 1-4 you also have to include possibly bus fairs on top.

All can't dispute that tbf parking will be more than £695. I know it's not free at Longbenton currently or it didn't used to be anyway. Btw on the buses it's why I included the Network One, that one allows buses and some trains aswell.

London is one of the most expensive places in the world though I believe for metro/subway services. 900 Euro a year in Paris for everything, all zones. Fantastic value imo but the UK is never public transport friendly.
 
I know you're just trying to be clever but the Airport is in Woolsington, Newcastle.
It may be but the point I made was if a regional airport was announced tomorrow, I doubt it would where it is. Having stayed near Manchester airport for a bit (bigger airport admittedly ) it was awful - noise became annoying very quickly. The locals in woolsington / ponteland would not want it. The Sunderland airport site, now Nissan, would have been a better location but I am.actually glad it isnt there. Anyway, newcastle is welcome to the airport. Not going to argue but if it does fall within newcastle must be one if the few things that actually does e.g. Village Hotel Newcastle - parts of Sunderland are probably closer than that.
 
All can't dispute that tbf parking will be more than £695. I know it's not free at Longbenton currently or it didn't used to be anyway. Btw on the buses it's why I included the Network One, that one allows buses and some trains aswell.

London is one of the most expensive places in the world though I believe for metro/subway services. 900 Euro a year in Paris for everything, all zones. Fantastic value imo but the UK is never public transport friendly.

You can tell I don’t get the metro or bus much these days so wasn’t aware of the Network One was!

i definitely think it’s the way to go and I think if the metro network was expanded across the north east then it would change the perception of the north east and must be the way society needs to go if we are serious about carbon reduction.
 
That's not true though is it.

Yes it could be better, but It needs footfall. An office catering for 9,000 civil servants would be a big shot in the arm for the city's businesses


Exactly

As I’ve said previously Sunderland definitely could do with a major boost like this and who better than the government to have helped?
 
If we want to improve Sunderland, we need to rethink the city centre. Retail is a fraction of what it once was and will only get smaller. We need to stop trying to bring back the past. Moving the college was a good step, but we missed a massive opportunity when they built the new Uni next to the river. We should try to move the people who will always be there into the city. Council/Goverment workers and students. That gives a base for footfall which will support hospitality and then build up from there.

However, we're never going to get 9k workers who are based in Longbenton to make a move to a different city.

I agree the emphasis on retail whilst investing in out of town offices was….is daft. There should have been a mixed use of commercial, retail and leisure, education and homes focused on the centre of Sunderland. That’s not to say they can’t rethink things going forward. Sunderland is improving all the time and the new developments look excellent
 

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