Cash-strapped Wem council set to approve parking charges
Monday 17th January 2011, 2:13PM GMT.
Controversial parking charges look set to be introduced in Wem after councillors revealed they can’t afford the £55,000 a year needed to keep them out of the town.
Shirehall bosses told members of Wem Town Council they will have to pay the money if they want to stop plans being enforced in the town, its mayor said today.
The proposals have previously come under fire from residents who claim charges would hit businesses hard, which could eventually “kill” the town.
Councillor Mandy Mea-kin, mayor of Wem, said: “There is no way we can afford the £55,000 a year to stop parking charges being introduced in Wem. I don’t know what other options we have left. It is ruining the id-ea of Cameron’s Big Society.
“We have a lot of low paid and part-time workers in Wem. We also have a lot of people who give up their free time to do volunteer work and to expect them to have to then pay to come into the town is not fair.”
Proposals could see parking on Mill Street, High Street and Leek Street car parks cost 50p for two hours and £1.80 all day.
They also include charging from 8am to 6pm every day and allowing free parking for 45 minutes at High Street car park.
The news comes days after Market Drayton Town Council reaffirmed its decision not to co-operate with Shirehall bosses over car parking charges.
At a meeting last Thursday, town councillors voted to write to Shropshire Council to inform them of their refusal to co-operate with any future consultations on car park charges.
The decision was first taken last November in protest at plans to introduce charges on Towers Lawn car parks from April.
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This will surely signal the end of Wem High Street as we know it. Many people will not pay for parking and will go elsewhere. Those who travel to work in the town will no doubt be asking their employers to subsidise their parking charges – a cost which would obviously have to be passed on to their customers.
I think this is a totally hair-brained scheme, and one not thought out properly by Shropshire Council. At the public “consultation” it was obvious that the decision had already been made to introduce the charges. However, no mention was made to the costs of installing ticket machines and employing parking attendants. After all, if there’s no-one checking tickets, people won’t bother to pay.
However, the short-sightedness of Shropshire Council is that if they enforced existing parking restrictions, sufficient funds would likely be made to avoid the introduction of parking charges.
Drive down the High Street, Station Road, Shrubbery Gardens etc anytime of the day or night and you will find vehicles illegally parked, ie on double yellow lines, across junctions etc etc.
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The motorist is always a nice easy target to beat up on. The motorists are always the whipping boys to bring in money. Who will they turn their attension to when the environmentalist run us off the road?
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This is another example of robbery by Shropshire council and totally inappropriate in a small town like Wem. This town is struggling already and there is precious little left in the way of shops to warrant paying anything at all to park there.
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thats the answer screw the motorist to get some more money? is it.
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Very sad – Wem is turning into a bit of a ghost town. I’d be reluctant to pay to park there when Shrewsbury isn’t far away!
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This may sound the death knell for the shops in Wem!
Think again !
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Well thats me finished with Wem! This is the last straw.
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