You pay your rent where???????

BIG N · Post by **BIG N** » Tue 15 Jan, 2008 11:51 am

A simple answer to the opening question in this thread -Any Post Office, by Standing order / direct debit or any shop displaying the yellow pay point sign.In all honesty it is easier now to pay your rent, and other bills, than it has ever been.As a personal example - I am a bus driver, when I call in at Cleckheaton or Batley bus stations where both shops are pay point operators I pay my rent, buy my electric tokens and if I remember to take my paperwork etc I can even pay my water rates and council tax at the same time, quick, easy and efficient and I dont even have to be in Leeds to do it.

simonm · Post by **simonm** » Tue 15 Jan, 2008 12:34 pm

The two biggest reasons for Armley Town st dying is the same the city / country over and THIS, imho, is where Munki's thread of a proud city is going wrong!! I know we live in a state of free enterprise and it really is good that the "state" cannot interfere too much in the aforementioned free enterprise! However, the foreign owners of ATS have priced the regular shop owners out of business and only the biggest or best established can survive.secondly Amber cars, while growing hand over fist have destroyed the shopping area, also, hand over fist. Once they took "ownership" of the back vacant land they stopped people parking there. I can remember, just before they came, the back car park was packed with cars, majority all shopping. There is now no place, cept for a few stolen spaces for anyone to park and thus carry out their weekly shop. Result, they bugger off to owlcotes, Bramley, Headingly, anywhere where they can visit and park in easy proximity.So to the foreign investors / owners and Amber cars you are the final nails in the coffin of ATS. Well done ya greedy grabbing.........However, there is a silver lining and hopefully not to far away! LCC is carrying out multi million pound investment in the West Leeds Gateway and ATS is one of the main interests to them. Public consultation is being carried out and hopefully massive re-investment and refurbishment is going to be carried out. Serious consideration MUST be given to the shopping area, as a whole and the subsequant parking problems. Lots of options and nothing concrete at the mo, but hopefully they WILL take the residents of Armley in consideration and plan it right!!

carrotol · Post by **carrotol** » Tue 15 Jan, 2008 11:04 pm

Simon, as a resident of Armley, can I ask you where you do your main shopping and how many of the shops on town Street you use regularly? I will be honest, I now go to Morrisons at Swinnow, I used to use the Post Office quite often (E Bay parcels) and I go to the greengrocers. If I run out of bread and I desperately want a nearly out of date expensive loaf then I will go into Somerfield, been in there about 6 times since it opened. I bet Tesco get more customers because they are next door to Wilkinsons (and their bread is in date).Slightly off topic now. There is a new off-license/ciggie shop just past Leeds building society and they must be very trusting or a bit daft as they have sweet/toy dispensers outside, on wheels, and they aren't chained to the wall.So Simon, if you can run fast and want a load of those sticky stretchy spiders, thats the place to be ; )

simonm · Post by **simonm** » Wed 16 Jan, 2008 12:29 pm

carrotolAye, lived in the Armley area for a long time now and always defended it to the hilt. My main shopping is done in Town, markets for fresh fruit and veg and meat! However, on the days i can't get to the city centre I do use the grocers and Skeltons on ATS. Apart from visiting my bank, I rarely go there anymore. shame, but the majority of "stuff" on ATS is absolute sh..... cack.I make my own bread, but for the majority of other shopping items, ie, tins and other non fresh items I use either Morrisons at Kirkstall or Asda Owlcotes. Shame, cos I really do relish the days of ATS being the old quality shopping centre. I really cannot see it coming back from the brink of extinction

jf · Post by jf » Wed 16 Jan, 2008 9:43 pm

The planners haven't really helped, they've approved two new bookmakers in the last year, which doesn't really add to the life or welfare of the area, just a sponge to soak away money from people who can't afford it, as with the amusement arcade on the same parade.I use Somerfields on occasions (which is an improvement on Kwiksave which went before) and Fulton's, I'll often wander along on a Saturday doing the rounds of charity shops, cash converters, the clearance shop, have a nose around the carpet shop for ideas of distant future home improvements. The small hardware stores are also handy for electrical bits and bobs and tools, if I just need a switch or a bit of wire it's pretty cheap, certainly cheaper than the petrol to get to B&Q, and the service is friendly. I'm also partial to the £4 haircuts, the guy up my end of Town St is pretty good.

carrotol · Post by **carrotol** » Sun 20 Jan, 2008 8:56 pm

Maybe the Armley Alien will become so popular that people will visit in their thousands and shops will re-open and the council will have to build a visitors centre to accommodate all the alien info. Or not!

LS12 · Post by **LS12** » Tue 18 Mar, 2008 5:50 pm

The Planners havent helped? Planners are only able to access changes of use, including A2 uses which include bookmakers against the adopted shopping policies of the leeds UDP. The UDP policies which relate to armley town allow 20% of non retail uses within the Primary Shopping Frontage, within a prticular block. The amount of non retail uses must have been within this threshold for any application to be have been approved. This the case of the Butcher which closed the premises already had a valid non A1 (retail) use. Planning applications can not be refused on moral grounds such as betting.If people dont like such policies they should have got involved at the consultation stage of the UDP. i doubt very few people in Armley did, and now it all the planners fault.

simonm · Post by **simonm** » Wed 19 Mar, 2008 10:41 am

Actually LS12, a lot of pople did get involved, the forums, held in the one stop centre would bear that out. Also, Councilors Haprer, Lowe and McCener (sp) all were actively involved in trying to block the planned betting shop. There is another planned re-development at the moment and I urge each and every resident of Armley to visit the one stop centre to take a look and put your views to it. Massive redevelopment of ATS is to be done, even to the point of proposed pedestrian shopping area! Go to the OSC and take a look.

LS12 · Post by **LS12** » Wed 19 Mar, 2008 1:54 pm

Im aware of the involvement against the application, what I meant was people need to get invloved at the policy making stage, when the policies which relate to changes of use within allocated centres are made (Leeds UDP) are made, as once such policies are adopted, it virtually impossible to refuse an application which is in-line with policy guidance.

LS12 · Post by **LS12** » Wed 19 Mar, 2008 1:58 pm

when u mean the planning re-development of Armley Town St I assume you are talking about the Area Action Plan for Leeds West Gateway?This is not a planning application to redevelopment the street, but a document which would be used by planners, to pro-actively regenerate the area. Future planning applications would be assessed against this document. If you want no more A2 uses on Armley Town St, this is ur chance to make representions on the proposed policies.