“Fat Fingered Syndrome is a very misunderstood condition which aflicts many

I will post my thoughts on this question in due course but sadly have work commitments this evening”

“First make it easy and a lot cheaper to get into the Centre. You can rebuild everything but without shoppers you are doomed.”

“I don't think it's difficult to get into the centre? Whether I travel by car or bus I've never found it hard. Do you think buses should be cheaper? But how to persuade the bus companies of this? Subsidies for buses maybe? Who's going to pay? Cheaper car parking? Again, mostly owned by private companies, how to persuade them to lower prices? To be honest I think there's plenty of cheap-ish car parking beyond Highcross. Cheaper (or free) on-street parking is a possibility, but you would still have to restrict parking times? Who's going to pay the wardens to do this with less revenue from car parking?

On a more general point, we're doing less shopping in city centres now anyway, so what else would tempt you into the city?”

“The problem here Red_Ned is the High Street issues affects the whole of the UK and for that abroad. Sadly, you cannot blame the mayor for that one; it is out of his control! As we know, retail is facing its hardest ever era and with closure of some big companies over the last year or so would indicate this. As you have addressed already Internet shopping is just one of the factors to blame…. I have always said I cannot see the any benefit from his £4 million Square, though I have not seen the business plan? The Market would be interesting, though the history of the Leicester Market would be gone if that happened…The Haymarket Bus Station is very expensive and with the bus fares going up I feel this again might not go down to well… What can he do? The mayor can listen to the people and see what they want would be a good starting point? In his defence, we do not see the long-term plan or drawings of these proposed ideas, I could not tell you the impact it will have on the city of Leicester. The council would sit down with business analysts and would not just build a £4 million Square without an action plan…”

“Being a mayor or politician is a difficult balancing act and it is unfair to be too overly critical of their decisions at times. It's a case of damned if they do, damned if they don't'.

I reject this whole hierarchical (might is right) system. Decentralising political and economic power is the way to go. In a free market situation, we make our own choices, we pay our own prices; instead of leaving important decisions to elected officials (power corrupts), or outsourcing personal responsibility to the taxpayer.

You've got highly-paid people working in the city – why should we pay for the roads and infrastructure to get them here when they could easily live in the city instead? The same goes for all those people who love to shop here and use the various entertainments, but wouldn't dream of living within 3 miles of the city centre.

And the majority of Leicester people (the real victims) live in relative depravity just to maintain this elitist status quo.

If I was the mayor, I would just leave things as they are and reduce all local taxes as mush as possible. And then let self-reliance, personal charity and creativity flourish.”

“Nick, surely we pay for the roads and infrastructure so that everyone can get into the city, not just well-paid people, or people who want to shop or be entertained?

How would the maintainance of roads (and pavements) work under your system? I am also interested (despite what you might think of me) in non-hierarchical systems but from personal experience I've seen that even getting the inhabitants of one (private) road to get together to pay for re-surfacing is extremely difficult.”

“Nick Di Perna - for once I sort of agree with you.. apart from one thing..

As a consumer - if you wanted to open an exclusive restaurant or hotel which charges thousands, is highly regarded, so you can attract the high rollers who spend money like water,

would you:

A: Have an immaculate entrance that makes a good first impression, and makes those who are in two minds think about visitng. Make sure everything is in place and perfect before you open your doors.

B: Open whilst it's half finished - and still a building site?

C: Not bother building a driveway - or entrance lobby - or providing any parking, and simply say - Well my customers will all be rich - if they want to use my Hotel or Restaurant, they can afford to pay for their own roads or live closer?

Just a thought.”

“The reason I ask is because - The council should be making the town attractive and accessible for shoppers, either with easy access or decent transport links. And keep the place neat and tidy - maybe even throw in a unique selling point to make people choose Leicester instead of other cities.

This will attract people to the town, as with any pleasant space - the more people it attracts, the more businesses will arrive to tap into this source of income - and the more you look after your location as a council - the better value the businesses will feel they are getting in return for their rates. The area should prosper and in turn - more money from VAT - new business Rates, and employee tax contributions will allow the area to become self sustaining, maybe to the point where it repays some or all of the outlay.

If you don't make the initial investment, why would any business want to move to your area?
If the potential customers aren't there as there are no shops, and the place is horrible, and rates were high, and the place was inaccessible then no one with any business sense would choose your location, and the businesses already there will start to decline also. This will impact on surrounding areas - meaning you'll not only lose your visiting trade but your local trade.

Someone has to make the first move - and if you were a businessman with a choice between a city which attracts visitors (customers) - or a city which is unpleasant and no one wants to visit - which would you choose?”

“@Red_Ned & Chappy

Just some food for thought only, on roads:

http://tinyurl.com/b68dtgk

More food for thought. These people show how even a sustainable city could be built by individuals.

http://tinyurl.com/altfeew

http://tinyurl.com/b5k6kct”

“Nick -

link 1 - Irrelevant - unless we are taking on responsibility for other countries.

link 2 - admirable - question - during the manufacturing of these sustainable building materials - what powered the machines that built them, what powered the machines that transported them, what powered the vehicles the work force used to get to work, what materials were the transport made of - to conform with safety regulations. What is the Seismic Resistance of the buildings - how do they perform in a temperate climate with a seasonal shift of up to 50 degrees C? Just a few considerations that's all.

link 3 - excellent - I just love the use of recycled consumer units, breakers, fuses and cables which are completely sustainable, made in sustainable factories by a workforce that walk to work from their solar powered eco homes.

Being completely green and completely sustainable is one thing,
achieving it without ANY reliance on existing - less green technology is another..”

“Very good, but Nick is doing very well here. I back him to win.”

“Irrelevant? You seem to like Germany in the other post Chappy1884?”

“Couldn't resist posting this piece on 'road tax'.

http://tinyurl.com/amyhecr”

“Lol Nick that is ace, well played.”

“Nick, those links are all very interesting but don't answer the question.

The first one is about criminal activity. I'm pretty sure private companies indulge in that as well. The people involved were sacked. Just the same as private companies. I'm really not sure what your point is?

The second and third are about building sustainable homes at little cost.
They're very nice and I wouldn't say no to satying there, but is that a solution for the problems facing a city in the middle of England? I don't think so.

The fourth on is just plain wrong. There is no such thing as 'road tax'. The roads are paid for out of general taxation. VED is paid on the car and is related to the CO2 emissions of that car. Looking at one road (without any knowledge o why the road hadn't been fixed, or if it was about to be fixed, or even if it was a private road) does not really proof anything - amusing though it must be for libertarians.

Once again, I get the feeling you are trying to turn this thread into something about your thoughts on the world. And it looks like Chappy1884 wants to indulge you, but could I please ask people to stick to the question? There are plenty of other threads for discussing freedom of speech and so on.

Thanks.”

“I think it is the one man band image that upset many with this mayor. Why bother to elect and pay Councillors who seem in fear of upsetting the leader or even to speak out. Would it not be better what the people wanted not just one man.”

“I will try to answer Happy1900 again, East Germany's development after being integrated into the West - has taken around 23 years - but through sustained investment in infrastructure they have tamed what was originally a social wilderness, they've took on an huge economic burden which had very little to offer apart from land and manpower, it's resources were pretty much exhausted. It is now becoming an attractive part of Germany - which is almost holding it's own financially - and contributing to the greater economy of the country. During this evolution it has become fairly law abiding - despite being reliant on state handouts, and European Emergency Payments - from countries that gained nothing from it's sudden inclusion into the EU.

In short, mine was an example of what can be done to effect positive change through a mixture of Private and Public initiatives - but it takes time.

Nicks Link about some criminals who just happen to be State employed in another country - does not really demonstrate anything - other than there are unscrupulous people working in a foreign country - who were sacked incidentally.

disident3 - is there not a motion or avenue where public confidence in the mayor can be called into question? This could result in calls for an early election, or a vote of no confidence by his peers as they try to distance themselves from his image?”

“Disident - you're on the wrong thread!”

“@ Red_Ned

You mentioned the roads first. LOL.”