Tories hike up parking charges in Wiltshire
The WC 'cabinet' has agreed the charges following a rigged consultation. The official WC release is below, with grammatical and other errors corrected. When reading it bear in mind that: 1. The approval levels are high because people were threatened with consequences if they didn't give the right answer. 2. There may not have been 'inflationary' increases but there have been other non-inflationary increases. 3. 'Harmonise' means rip off. 4. The 'other funding opportunities suggested' by respondents to the survey have all been ignored. ...................................................................... |
Options to address the financial pressures faced by the council's parking services and to help support local bus services have been approved this morning (30 January). This follows the majority of people and organisations agreeing to the proposals set out in a consultation last year. While respondents weren't in favour of reducing the parking 'grace' period from 15 minutes to 10 minutes, options which have been agreed are:
It was also announced last month that an inflationary increase will be applied to all parking charges from 1 February 2018. This was after 63% of those who responded supported the rise. There were around 1,400 responses to the consultation into a review of car parking charges in Wiltshire, aiming to help minimise the impact of funding challenges on public transport and other services. The changes will also fund investment in customer service - including automatic number plate recognition for residents' parking zones, static cameras outside schools to improve safety and body worn cameras. Bridget Wayman, cabinet member for highways and transport, said: "I'd like to thank everyone who took the time to respond to this important consultation, it really has helped us decide on how we charge for parking going forward. "Parking charges have not been increased through an inflation uplift since 2011 and the cost of operating car parks and public transport is continuing to rise. Along with the increasing demand on our budget, we have introduced new charges to mitigate some service reductions. "I am also grateful for the other funding opportunities suggested by those who responded to the consultation on the proposals." Schedule of proposed charges following agreement to implement Option 1 Options considered by cabinet. Option 2 - Introduce Sunday and Bank / Public Holiday charging at all car parks Option 3 - Charge in all Wiltshire Council car parks Option 4 - Move the free event parking offer in November and December to other times of the year Option 5 - Base season ticket prices on the standard rate charges Option 6 - Harmonise resident's parking permit charges Option 7 - Reduce the period of time or parking grace from 15 minutes to 10 minutes in all car parks |