Wonderful Grub - Dreadful Parking
Congratulations to the Chelmsford Indian Association (CIA) who held a very successful food fair at Hamptons on 25/09/21. We were very pleased to see a huge variety of dishes, and really enjoyed the Mutton Biryani and Coconut Laddus. A big thumbs up from us to all the chefs.
However, the event’s success was rather soured by the dreadful parking of some of the attendees, and poor event management by Hamptons. And this is the second parking issue in less than a month.
WHO’s responsible ?
As a responsible business (and a good neighbour), the ball lies squarely in Hampton’s court. They seem content that they sent out a single parking marshall for an hour, and that simply isn’t good enough. Residents should be thankful that no one needed the emergency services !
Having failed to secure permission to park on the Tydemans Green, this is a problem that is going to occur anytime that more than 98 cars arrive.
No apology then ?
By 6pm the car park was full, and the local roads soon became choked with cars going round and round Clarion Gate (creating a queue that went all the way along Beehive Lane), looking for non existent spaces, but that isn’t the worst of it.
thESE idiots needs to be found and spoken to !
Not content with parking illegally on the grass (there are signs everywhere), Idiot No.1 drives down the public footpath and across the grass, narrowly avoiding some children. A good job that Mum shoved the kids out of the way ! We will be forwarding this video to the police.
And the second video is no better. At one point that are two cars circling a family walking their dog, on the public open space. We will be forwarding this video to the police too !
HARDLY A SURPRISE
Amongst the Hampton’s management are individuals that have worked at numerous CIA events, who would be quite aware of the potential numbers of guests attending.
Given that the CIA have to put an estimate of attendees on the booking form, it’s clear to us that Hamptons failed in their responsibility to local residents. We’ve had messages from a number of residents who couldn’t get into or off the estate, such was the volume of traffic.
Hamptons Needs A Travel Plan
If the business is to remain on good terms with it’s neighbours (and potential customers), they must try harder. Last night’s fiasco shows almost a complete lack of event management.
We’d suggest the following:
A full travel plan needs to be written for the venue, with parking assessments, and details of public transports links to encourage customers to leave their cars at home. This should be displayed on the Hampton’s website, and also in any publicity by the organisers of any future events.
At least two parking marshalls for the duration of the whole event , armed with walkie talkies so they can communicate. If there are additional staffing costs, Hamptons could split them with the event organisers.
Invest in some “car park full” signs, which could displayed at the top of Tydemans, and at the car park entrance by parking marshalls.
The council needs to apply for some Traffic Regulation Orders. The narrowest parts of Tydemans must have double yellow line on both sides, to avoid creating choke points, and allow the free flow of traffic.
Consider reducing the capacity of the main hall.
And finally, Hamptons should look at investing in some additional parking spaces locally, and maybe organise a park and ride scheme or a shuttle bus.
this is not acceptable !
All residents have the right to peace and quiet in their own homes, and should be able to come and go as freely as they wish. The needs of a private business are secondary to the human rights of local residents.
Although parking has always been a problem at the venue, the loss of the Tydeman’s Green for parking, now makes this a more serious issue. The change in local parking conditions needs to be addressed properly.
Hamptons Sports and Leisure Ltd must act now to fix this problem, before someone gets hurt !
KBO