Improving the High Street: comments

Buildings/Shopfront Design, Security, and Advertising

• We need a consistent look and design for all shops. No more roller shutters. No more eye sores like the new building next to the Blue Anchor pub.
• Someone needs to take ownership of shop fronts as a whole to give a better identity to Hoylake. It looks scruffy because there is no consistent look or feel, especially with the arrival of chains of betting shops and insurance firms. This would make such a huge difference to the perception of the village.
• Design quality is essential rather than an emphasis on traditional.  Hoylake must not be a pastiche reflection of traditional times.  It must emphasize quality – contemporary shopfronts and signage could fit well, blended with traditional styles.  The high street must also not be sanitized.  An array of colour, of life, of people, of wares – make a place shine.
• More traditional and appealing frontages and less ill considered design
• Traditional shopfront signage can be too pastiche and you only have to look at Rampworx to see how simple shopfront design and signage can be done well. Its not about tradional, its about good design.
• Need for more consideration of colour choices for shop signs and product advertising posters to avoid the present noisy feel of parts of Market Street.
• Advertise professional sign writing for A-Boards.
• Limit use advertising boards above ground level.
• Hoylake is dominated by a massive bargain shop masquerading as 3 cheap shops and dominating the pavement. I’ve no problem with the concept but in Hoylakes interest think the council should implement a policy about appearance of shop fronts as I thought had been done years ago in other areas of Wirral? It has the right I think to restrict encrouchment onto the pavements.
• Awnings and signs need not be traditional but do need to be better quality I.e. not home made.  The word traditional is open to interpretation anyway!  What is wrong with modern? All a matter of taste.
• Roller shutters can look nicer if we were to use them for art.
• Top quality public realm throughout and focus on improving shop fronts/ signage vital to provide a quality feel. Restore surviving village buildings e.g. between Melrose Ave and Elm Grove.Create new central focus by redeveloping The Row area. Seriously think about reducing size of shopping area so more compact. Looking  imaginatively at options for redeveloping much of Birkenhead Road shopping area to predominantly high quality residential would be a good starting point.
• It is such a shame the traditional buildings of Hoylake have been lost and replaced with the new. All shops should be like the fruit and veg shop – traditional, quaint and something that is pleasurable to look at. I was in Tarporley the other day and I thought Hoylake could be like this.
• An attractive high street requires a consistency and rhythm. There are too many garish shop signs trying to grab attention, particularly around the Melrose avenue area.
• Roller shutters are an insurance requirement, so cant be got rid of.
• All the roller shutters on closed shops make the place look like down town Sowetto.
• Roller shutters are needed for security, ugly but understandable.
• Neon lit gaudy signs & offensive names should not be allowed. Roller shutters are sometimes an ugly necessity if insurance is not available.
• Do they not have to have these for insurance purposes?
• Ref:No more roller shutters on shops.  Having had the shop window smashed Twice by yobs, our insurance company informed us that we had the choice of “” No shutter No Insurance”” hence we have a shutter, I think other shopkeeper will have to make the same choice.
• We dont want to turn Hoylake into a theme park.
• The solid roller shutters would need to be replaced by something equally as secure. A few shops resisted them until they were broken into a few too many times.
• It would be nice to see improved shop signage and a more consistent feel (or higher standards) as Market Street can feel slightly hotch potch and slightly run down (sorry!).  Urbane and Society Rocks are attractive shop fronts.
• Higgeldy piggeldy! Shop fronts would look better with choice of 3 basic colours, and good signage.
• All shops having a more traditional look would be far more inviting and create tourist interest.
• The better Hoylake looks the more people would come.
• I think Hoylakes unique character has deteriorated over the years. The Victorian canopies have all but gone as have many of the quality speciality shops.  There has been little control on planning and the appearance of some of the newer builds leave a lot to be desired (eg. Montrose Court, Horn Arcade replacement building – both far too large and overbearing)
• Care should be taken with any new development, i.e. Hoose Court, to ensure it blends in with the existing buildings.
• People need to protect their property.
• Remove gaudy signs promote quality of area.
• Shop windows/signage need to be engaging, relevant & contemporary.
• Roller shutters unsightly – but whats the alternative?
• It would be nice to see the traditional glazed, wrought iron arcadia reinstated to several of the shop terraces.
• Is this not necessary for security?
• Restoring the Victorian pavement glass covered canopies
• I would love to see a more traditional high st. Awnings & canopies would look great.
• We dont want the shopkeepers to suffer their shops being vandalised but solid shutters are very unsightly

Maintenance and condition of property and empty shops

• Requirement for owners of empty shops to ensure that their shops are emptied of the residue left by previous tenants and windows cleared of out-of-date posters, etc. to avoid a deterimental effect on the rest of the high street.
• Some shops should be more aware of the image they project with their shop frontage as tatty paper signs with poorly written notes look unprofessional and uninviting.
• Ensuring buildings are well maintained, Hoylake appears very scruffy in certain parts at present.
• There are always empty premises on the high street, some for long periods of time.  Some are well maintained whilst others become a magnate for flyposting or have piles of junk mail visible just inside the door.  A policy that can be enforoced on mantaining the look of vacant premises would help maintain and enhance the look of  the high street.
• Some shop fronts just look a mess.  Landlords should be challenged about their willingness to leave property empty [unsightly] rather than offer slightly lower rent, or an initial rent free period [3 or 6 months], to encourage start-up businesses to occupy Hoylake as a more cost effect option than the more expensive West Kirby, which will always have more footfall while Hoylake is looking half empty.
• Too many vacant or very poor quality shops negatively impact upon the area.
• Utilise empty shops either with local displays eg art, hoylake in bloom flower display,  use empty shops seasonally, eg. decorate for christmas, halloween etc.  Let schools get invloved and see if they have any ideas.
• stop shops from putting all there stuff on the pavememt, a lot of money was spent on the revamp only for it to be coverd with plastic boxs and plants etc.
• First job is to fill the empty shops!
• Certain properties need to be “”tidied up””.
• Pop up shops would be good too I run a vintage furniture business from my home in Meols.
• Improvements need to be made to the flats above the shops. A lot of them are badly maintained with an abundance of peeling paint. Also poor quality replacement UPVC windows and doors cheapen the look of the high street. Landlords should be encouraged to replace sash windows, with sash windows.
• Fewer empty shops.
• Small businesses should be given short term rental incentives to attempt to get empty shops filled and allow existing owners to have some longer security in their business. Too many shops are opened and then closed soon after because of spirraling costs. Surely the Council have a role to play in High Street local shops. Empty shops create a poor shopping and visitor experience.
• All the buildings above the shops need to be spruced up especially along the easterly end (above the watchmakers etc)
• I would suggest that the council approaches management of the Punchbowl public house on Market St re: untidiness of their frontage. eg. cigarette ends, pigeon droppings & the state of the visible drains.
• Shop owners should be asked to swill down their front pavement with the incentive of a little lower business rates.

Mix of Businesses, Business Identity and Other Uses

• We need a supermarket!!! thats why everybody leaves Hoylake to shop in West Kirby or futher afield. It would keep locals shopping locally, until this is accepted then the demise of Hoylake will continue to decline. Even the night time economy is struggling.
• The Sainsburys supermarket encourages me to shop in Hoylake but unfortunately would be better if closer to other shops high quality shops rather than on a residential street.
• Should have another home bargains
• Why not build a shopping mall over the lines with a multi storey carpark and then pedestrianize market street  using the carl lane by pass proposed  plan  as part off this venture ?
• I beleive that Hoylake needs a focus, Ie It used to have a swimming facilities and a cinema. I also believe the skate park or larger Car park would improve the footfall.
• I think there should be more things for young people eg cincima , swimming pool , gym.
• I think hoylake is on the right track, I think we need more Leisure focused retailers to invest in the area. Im glad to see a Rampworx has recently open, what we could really do with is a better general bike shop & maybe a surf shop ?
• i think you should build a skatepark.
• skate park !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
• skatepark
• I think we need to encourage more bars as when the bars where busy the shops got the business as well.
• There are some really successful local, national and international businesses in Hoylake and we should be using these to promote Hoylake as a place to do business. with the increase in hyper/supermarkets and large retailers appearing both in hoylake and the flank villages/towns i dont think it is realistic to expect people to open shops in hoylake to compete with them. with shop rents being so high it may only be possible, in my view, for specialist retailers to flourish.
• At present the High Street is not a particularly inviting place and dramatically needs improvement & retail businesses need encouragement to come to Hoylake.
• I think the work that was done for the open was really good, we just need a more diverse range of shops to encourage people to shop local and deter people from going to west kirby.
• We should encourage and use better quality shops especially delicatessens and restaurants. If we want all of these things to happen in our high street we need to use the facilities. We are very good at complaining about Market Street but very few seem to want use the facilities and choose to shop elsewhere.
• I would like a bank so I can open an account for my son.
• Hoylake having a retail theme e.g. Bespoke niche like say Manchesters Northern Quarter (not necessarily this actual idea, but something that gives Hoylake an identity which people identify with and a reason to come for a particular retail experience.
• Maintain local shops, no chains or supermarkets!
• More cafes, fewer bars!
• Please, NO more retirement homes!
• Modernise Hoylake
• a skatepark
• The high street is very long and its unrealistic to expect to regerate all of it. Focus retail development in the wider section in holake beyond the co-op.
• encourage more proper retail shops by giving them reduced rates for the first year and object to more offices at street level. We need shops for everyday purchases of which there are not enough of this type of shop in Hoylake.
• Keep the independent stores alive
• I think its a nice mixture as it is.
• Hoylake has a very linear shopping centre: it is a long way from, say Sandringham Avenue to The Kings Gap, and this presents particular management and stategic issues in relation to providing a vibrant and busy shopping environment. While there is an obvious need to focus on the core stretch (Kings Gap to Trinity Road?) the eastern end (Trinity Road? to Sandringham Avenue) may require a different strategy appropriate to its slightly more peripheral role.
• As long as shops are being used it matters not whether they are offices or retail!
• I would strongly suggest that we all make an effort to support the local economy of hoylake. Local residents should stop ordering food ONLINE and shop locally. Simple!!
• Give it some life.
• Would be nice to have a bank.
• The two shops I use the most (by value spent) are Sainsburys and Home Bargains. They keep the so called local shops up to the mark. Imagine how bad it would be if local shops only had to compete with the Co-op.
• Anything that brings in a variety of shops.
• To create a bustling high street offering a diversity of services, Hoylake residents need to use the existing facilities – ie shop locally more than they do now. This would enable local shops to re- invest and provide sufficient incentives for new businesses to establish in Hoylake.
• Encourage more everyday shops and clothes shops into the area.
• It is good that we have a butcher, fishmonger,greengrocer, baker and soon we will have a deli. People need to be encouraged to use these shops – they need to stay.
• The number of shops in unsustainable. Ideally the Meols end of Hoylake would be better as housing. It was ridiculous to demolish the Wirral Horn Arcade, but even more ridiculous to replace it with shops, to say nothing of the hideous design of the building.
• Lower rate charges for vacant shops to encourage new business to Hoylake
• no more charity shops please
• Bank – think losing lot of business to West Kirby sice bank closed
• Encourage rtetail outlets for main weekly shop and people in Hoylake. 3 Supermarkets down to 1 small shop :-coop.
• High end retail to encourage more tourism and shopping
• Farmers markets on a small scale along market street would be nice. Fresh bread, cakes and produce which is a little different to the small shops we have. I dont feel welcomed in alot of our little shops so have not returned.
• It good to see new businesses opening, but it is still not possible to do a main food shop in the town, meaning a visit to West Kirby which is thriving. Its not about attracting shoppers from other areas but we need a decent supermarket to stop people shopping elsewhere. I supermarket would not mean the demise of the independent shops, quite the opposite.
• More tea shops open on Sunday. A cycle hire shop would be good!
• No more charity shops. Improve quality and range of businesses on High St. Needs to be greater incentive for people to visit Hoylake. At the moment the High St doesnt have a sense of identity.
• Fewer wine bars.
• Too many coffee shops! See section 2, a cafe by the beach would be far more welcome.
• More variety of shops – just seems to be pubs and second hand shops. Needs more of an up-market contemporary feel. Use of market stalls too – maybe a weekly/monthly market space. More use of cafe space outside.
• More variety of shops – nice gift shops for example smartening up the currents shops Good to hear we are getting a deli in April.
• To encourage the large known retail companies eg Boots WHSmiths, Superdrug to have shops in Hoylake as the public use Moreton or West Kirby to shop.
• Some of the smaller shops could be turned into houses and flats rather than being left empty or occupied by low quality shops.
• no more cheap takeaway shops, tattoo parlours or downmarket bars
• More widespread and varied outlets not just offices.
• More health food shops and independent shops, less sun tan/beauty parlours Boots & Smiths would be good
• In the rows develop cafe style retail outlets with seating in the open area.
• Priority – encourage retail business
• Independent retailers should be encouraged and supported – rates are high but we need them here. A bank would also be great even if only opened 2-3 days a week.
• There are too many “”shop units”” for the size of the population.
• Yes, encourage more business by reducing rates and stop so many supermarkets coming in
• Hoylake now seems very much in the shadow of West Kirby which is a very sad situation

Pedestrian Crossings and Traffic

• Another zebra crossing halfway between existing ones in Market Street.
• Would be nice to see some sort of traffic calming. There is also quite a dangerous blind spot at the corner of Melrose Avenue, where Everite Windows is, pavement narrows as corner juts out. Dangerous for pedestrians and drivers alike.
• The public realm works are of very high standard in places, but the road is still dominated by vehicular traffic.
• If it was one way – running down in a loop to the sea front there would be parking for both sides of Market St.
• A lot more buses.  I know we have two stations, but they are still a long walk away for the elderly and infirm. There is a Liverpool bound bus leaves West Kirby every 7mins.  Why cant some of them a day come through Hoylake?  Instead we have to go to West Kirby to get a bus.  We have a bus every half hour, when two come together, ridiculous or what??

Cleaning/tidying the street and drainage

• Adoption of voluntary code of practice on cleanliness and tidiness
• Clean up the dog poo!
• The pavement area outside The Punch Bowl often looks unkempt with bird droppings etc.
• We only just have enough litter bins… could do with more.
• As elderly people can not get to high street to shop due to flooding of pavements caused by blocked road drains. Cost cutting?Is it cheaper to clean them out or pay high legal fees and compensation over health and safety claim? Heswall gets its drains sucked out  twice a year. Hoylake once in 4 years.
• Better control of fly posters/temporary banners.
• More needs to be done about the litter situation.  I suggest that businesses accept responsibility for clearing litter from the street/pavement outside their shops.  A sticker : “”This shop helps clean up Hoylake”” could be provided for co-operating shops to display.
• Too much dog mess-shop owners should clean outside their area daily.Similarly remove ice in winter.
• Provide bins specifically for collected dog poo. Provide more bins for general litter.
• Finding a way to discourage dog fouling on the pavements. Its everywhere from the hign street to the beach.
• Keeping the footpaths clear of any rubbish and maintain floral decorations.
• Pavements should be kept much cleaner i.e. dog muck, take a way refuse, cigarette stumps outside the Punchbowl
• Am fed up of treading in dog mess on Hoylakes pavements – also there is too much litter – especially in Meols – need more litter collections please.
• Is there any way of cleaning the chewing gum off the lovely new pavements? Could the grass around the fine cherry trees be levelled? It wa dug up soon after trees and daffodils were planted and hasnt looked so good since.
• Some of the High Street looks very smart, other parts very grotty – it needs to be bought more in line.
• The streets towards the beach have lots of dog muck on them. West Kirby doesnt have this problem, why?
• Would like to see the removal of chewing gum form the pavements and enforceable fines for those who drop it.
• That the work be kept up maintaining planter boxes and keeping pavements tidy. Focus on combating dog dirt on the pavements Trinity Road, Grove Park Surrounding areas.
• more litter pickers as one is not enough
• Greater attention to litter, dog fowling, parking.
• Need to regularly clean bird droppings in vicinity of Punch Bowl public house not adhered to. Cigarette ends also an issue.
• Dog muck an issue.
• Better road & pavement sweeping & cleansing An end to dog mess in Market St
• Keep it clean and graffity free.
• Any hope of getting rid of and preventing chewing gum on pavements?

Pavement treatments, use and clutter

• The cobbles on the pavement I know are hard wearing, but they are also a danger with people tripping up on them.
• No more cobbles, as nice as they look they are not the best idea for a community which has many elderly.
• Reduction in visual clutter with better enforcement by WBC.
• I get cross with cyclists riding on the pavements and drivers who park on the yellow lines… both these things make it harder to be a happy pedestrian!
• No to signs. There is already too much street furniture- I dont mean seat or bike stands but posts that have no reason to be there. There is a lot more clutter. Im goung back to when I came to Hoylake in the 60s. Victorian frontages . No road lines even!
• The new paved area of cobbled effect are hell to walk on, even worse for wheel chair users and pushchairs on the ramped areas. Big mistake – we do have elderly and we all will be one day- think ahead- not pretty.
• Wherever possible, try to achieve full accessibility for wheelchair users unto all shops – much better than it was but still not ideal for electric chairs.
• The granite paving on Market St looks good but has proved very slippery and dangerous to walk on when ice and snow are around.
• Stop young people cycling along Market St pavement before they cause serious injury to elderly residents or worse.
• Improvement should continue as far as the cottage hospital to balance all of Hoylake village not just to Pages butchers
• Improvement of Market St all the way  through Hoylake. DDA ie. raised ramps to shops important, was a missed opportunity in phase 1
• Am pleased to hear that Hoylake Station and approach is getting a re-vamp
• Use of lamposts bus stops to promote businesses and hoylake itself advertise on litter bins.
• Pavements are uneven and in some places too narrow.
• All street furniture, bins, signage, should be traditional and consistent throughout Hoylake to create an ambience.
• No more granite cobbles – slippery when wet, treacherous when icy! Most leading to a puddle in the gutter when it rains.
• Please dont use the cobble stones again they are really difficult to walk on for people in wheelchairs or mobility aides.
• Would prepare smoother pavements rather than cobbles.
• Overall the signage/street furniture is rather messy. A simpler more elegant design is needed.
• There should be an entrance of nice paving near the cottage hospital, or goose green in meols,to signify the start of the village.
• I have always thought Market St too long. It was always in the past a very pretty village and could be again.
• Any improvements should extend down Birkenhead Road as far as the Total Garage.
• The  re-generation of Hoylake was not completed prior to the 2006 Open Golf and nothing has basically been done since. The area from Melrose Ave to Bhead Rd needs some TLC urgently.
• The Meols end of Market Street is neglected and appears to fall in no mans land. This end should be incorporated into the total design and plan.
• There are too many posts and signs already. The planting and trees along Market Street are lovely – they need no more lamp posts and signs around them.
• The high street is far more appealing and diverse than Banks Road West Kirby, illustrating the community spirit that prevails in Hoylake and which is sadly lacking in West Kirby. In short, its a far more enjoyable place to shop utilise facilities eg library.
• An end to the continual encroachment onto the pavement space by bars. It is making it more difficult for wheel chairs, prams and mobility scooters because there are also electric lights, letter boxes & signs as well to negotiate.
• Completing the pavement improvements should be a priority. Left as they were was wrong. Better to have completed one side all the way through the town would have been better for the community – it was decisive to leave it half way.
• Any pavement improvements should have safety as a prority  The cobbles are very uneven and if there is any frost or snow the cobbles and slate effect flagstones are like a skating ring.
• No more cobbled areas please. on behalf of people with walking aides of all descriptions, prams. ladies with high heeled shoes, arthritic ankle sufferers street cleaners trying to extract fag ends etc

Plants and Greenery

• more plants to  add interest.
• I enjoy the flower tubs.
• The bushes in front of what used to be hoose court need cutting down and kept low as its a vulnerable spot as night, people sit drinking in the chair there.
• Great work on the tubs and flowers on roundabout! how about some xmas lights on the depressing birds sculpture?
• Love the floral displays – keep them going and add more if possible!
• Greening the space: Increase in plantings is good – could more be fitted.
• Love the work that Edible Hoylake and Hoylake in Bloom have done on the high street.
• More edible Hoylake,
• More planting tubs and tree planting.
• I feel at the present time the Village is being to look very tired and tatty, the flower tubs and planters are very nice and I hope they will continue.
• The planters are great, and the groups maintaining them need to be given support.
• Green trees! Red leaved trees not as appealing.
• Continue and support the flower ladies to give better impressions to people driving along Market St and Birkenhead Rd.
• The flower beds etc have been a big improvement and would like to see this extended to hanging baskets etc along the high street and encourage shop owners etc to have them.
• The flower people are doing a fantastic job, hear comments quite often…guess we would need to ensure we have the trees and potted plants as they beautify the town. Perhaps some sort of non-destructive vines for walls. More murals. 😉
• More trees/plants on High St.
• More plantings, as they had during the golf.
• More trees on the High St
• Flower displays to continue to be well maintained.
• It was a great pleasure to see the daffodils open in the month of March. The tubs look wonderful, keep it up please.
• Perhaps some more trees
• Tidy communal garden bedding areas, eg. opposite old PO is very tatty. Rule could be that garden areas are either well-maintained or theyre scrapped altogether and turned into something else.
• Also more trees please with green leafage.
• Planters in Hoylake look lovely!
• Love all the flowers.
• Plants are a pleasure, many situations already making available keep it up
• Hoylake in Bloom looked amazing with hanging baskets.

Meeting, Seating Space

• We need a central seating/meeting area eg the space next to Home Bargains which has just been cleared.
• The once-proposed town square area by the station would be good.
• Improve the area around the row. Encourage meet and mingle, possibilities include outdoor chess and petanque.
• In an ideal world pave the whole main centre and create a by pass. Encourage in the paved area famers markets, art festivals.
• Such a pity Hoylake is designed along just one street as it would be lovely if there was a square and some more to it.
• it would be good to have a very obvious town centre with a seating area, maybe in front of the old town hall with more seating. do we need the drive through area in front of the portrait house?
• Town Square and Notice Board.
• Encourage outside seating areas.
• Some very old shop premises along Market St should be demolished and open spaces created for the enjoyment of the public etc

Car Parking and Car Parking Signage

• More parking places. Less pavement width.
• More parking spaces needed.
• increased car parking.
• We also need better signage for the existing FREE car parks so that none locals driving through realise that they can stop i Hoylake
• Review of parking signs.
• Parking better signposted.
• The park and ride is remote & in the wrong place for use with the station to encourage incidental shopping.
• Bollards, barbed wire, electrified fences, sub-machine-gun posts – in fact ANYTHING to stop people parking on the pavements. DEFINITELY more traffic wardens – they apparently onely work 9-5 M-F – insane
• Longer parking times to enjoy Hoylakes facilities  (i.e. start later end earlier)
• No one to double park on the high street even disabled badge holders – but improve the parking areas instead.
• The biggest improvement for business s on the high street and Hoylake in general would be to have more parking, centrally located.
• More parking to encourage local shopping.
• Car parking and opening hours are other issues (raised last night) which need to be addressed.
• Improvements needed of parking.
• There is a need for more parking areas in Hoylake to encourage shoppers. I find parking a problem in Hoylake & sometimes continue to West Kirby if I cant find anywhere to park.
• Main problem is parking, which directs footfall to the middle and roundabout end of the main street. the Home and Bargain end, and further out of Hoylake towards Meols, has become very run down and scruffy, probably because the lack of parking means shops do not do well/ open there.
• Dig up shrubbery apposite Sues the florist & Mansells and make parking spaces.
• More parking on high St.
• Easier parking will attract more clients and so more shops. Contentiously, Hoylake needs a central, compact shopping area – a long main street is inefficient.
• There can be traffic hold ups because of lack of parking to our shop areas & parked delivery vans in the Main St, access for fire appliances, ambulances reduced. our street is kept very clean of litter, side streets not clean & tidy. Why is our High St called Market St?

Customer Service

• A small selection of shop keepers could do with a good lesson in customer services although the majority are great

Policing

• Cafe society is welcome but people walking the streets with cans of beer is not. We need a higher visibility of police/community support in the evenings which welcomes people to the restaurants / bars etc but any disruption must be treated immediately with arrest/removal.
• More police! Too many chavs roaming the streets.
• More police/community support officer presence on Market Street to discourage vandals (e.g. those who vandalise the flower arrangements/Christmas lights etc) – I see comm support officers walking down prom & side streets, but not down high street (but perhaps thats because of the time of day that I drive around!)

Public Toilets

• Public toilets are a top priority   It is disgusting there is no public toilets in Hoylake at all.
• You do not mention anywhere in this survey making available public toilets, very important if you want to encourage visitors.
• I would like to see some public toilets in the village.
• We really do need to have public toilets in Market St. We also need a bank.
• Public toilet.

Street decorations

• Loved the flags – why arent they there all the time with different themes for the seasons?
• Good quality Christmas light are vital. I know it is only for a short time but nothing says a town is in trouble more than poor or no lights and they must go up by mid November if the shops are to stand any chance of Christmas trade especially this year with the roadworks affecting buisiness
• The individual shop window decorations are excellent and provide festive flavour…. so dont bother with the lampost decorations as they are awful and never to anyones taste….but keep the lit trees as they are lovely….but never let them be multi-coloured…plain white would be  best.
• Keep the lampost vertical banners updated as it confirms the village retail zone.
• Whats on street boards in prominent or noticeable places, get sainsbury, co-op and all the mkt st shops involved in this.
• Could the Council be persuaded to change the banners on the lamp posts so that they are visible?
• Better Xmas decoration.
• Improved Christmas decorations.
• High Street map at each end showing location of each store.
• Create sections with high street signage showing shop names. Sign post businesses that are in Carr Lane to generate awareness for retailers over the lines.
• Vertical Banners fixed to the street lighting are a good idea – as have been used on the High Street previously – although the quality/ durability needs to be improved.
• Better Christmas lights.
• Community notice boards at either end of Market St.
• Improve Christmas Lighting.
• The Christmas lighting on the High Street was pathetic compared to near-by towns. I would be happy to contribute to a fund for a better effort.
• Better Xmas lights & possibly a tree at roundabout in Kings Gap

Wi-Fi

• There was some talk of w-ifi zones, this would make cafes a more attractive prospect for business lunches.

Importance of the Beach

• Development and promotion of the beach, waterside and promenade as a multi-function leisure facility. more effective control of beach grass. possibly the construction of a marine lake. This would make Hoylake a unique Wirral town, reinforcing it as Wirrals centre for leisure, bringing new and regular customers to the high street.
• I know this has been said time and time again we need to do somthing on the beach we are a seaside town with nothing on the prom.
• Better signs towards prom etc

Lighting

• Replace existing “”motorway”” lighting with more intimate high street lighting to give Market Street a friendlier feel.
• Keep the lights on the trees (next to Co-op) – could do with some upkeep…
• More traditional lighting.
• Lighting is adequate for its purpose but victorian lamps would add character.  We should not add to light pollution by increasing lighting.
• Put lighting in the alley next to the co-operative shop.
• How about the high lamp posts with no lights on them? They all should have lights on them.
• Lighting on the High St is good – its the side streets that are badly lit.

Management and strategic issues

• I think we do need a lot more civic pride. People do not have a huge say in the community as they once had when there was still a local council. One thing that could drastically improve the town centre would be to have a parish council.
• There are more important things to spend council money on right now and this should be bottom of the pil

Smoking

• Ban smoking on public pavements outside pubs during daytime unless in defined areas

Business collaboration, shop times, promotions

• later shop opening times please.
• Perhaps shop owners could work together to promote each others produce, thinking especially of fresh produce.  Could do menu planners with ideas with meat from Bill Price, or Fish the fishereris, veg and dessert from 3 sisters, bread from Fahys etc.

Miscellaneous

• A coffee shop on the beach front would be good. I think that its been beautifully renovated and I love the pavements and the individuality of it. Wonderful that there are so many resident artists and that such a thoughtful and friendly community seems to be evolving.
• To see a small area set aside within Queens Park for Scooters/ BMX / In – line scates.
• Nancy is registered ? So a lot of this doesnt mattere to her.