Old pay and display machines will not accept new-style coins
Tuesday 24th January 2012, 1:30PM GMT.
More than 120 pay and display machines across the county will not be able to take new 5p and 10p coins because Shropshire Council cannot afford to upgrade them in one go.
It would cost the council up to £35,000.
The Royal Mint is saving £8 million by changing from nickel and copper to steel coins, but these are around 10 per cent thicker and the new ones will not fit into the slots on some older machines.
Councils across the West Midlands have spent £64,000 on upgrading and recalibrating their pay and display stock.
But this afternoon Shropshire Council said it would cost £18,000 to £35,000 to convert 121 of its machines in the county and it cannot afford to spend this as it has to save £84million by 2014.
Councillor Simon Jones, the council’s cabinet member with responsibilities for car parks, said: “Shropshire Council is currently developing a strategy to respond to these changes.
“It is unlikely that we will be making any changes to our machines in this year.
“Our current machines will continue to accept our old coins but cannot at present accept the new size tender. We just have not got the funding to change all of the machines in one fell swoop.”
Councillor Jones said 26 newer machines, bought when north Shropshire introduced charges, will take the new coins.
Telford & Wrekin Council converted its nine machines last September.
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So maybe Shropshire Council will ’round down’ their car parking charges to the nearest 20p, 50p or £1 so it won’t be too much of an issue.
They’d never round them up to the nearest though would they ?? …..
…. would they ???
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No chance of charges being rounded down, this is Shropshire – it’ll be a quid or nothing!
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why can’t they use the money they are getting from the machines to pay for the upgrade.
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if the machines are not fit for purpose they should be removed
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and its just coincidence this will make them more money and not give change too??
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Shropshire Council is a unitary council and therefore has many more ticket machines than Telford & Wrekin Council and costs are surely going to be greater! There is talk that next year the Royal Mint will be introducing a new £1.00 coin! Think it would make sense to wait and see what this would cost the authority for all changes rather than knee jerk due to media pressure and the same old winging and moaning minority that have just got to have a go at the council who are trying to do their best in these difficult times. How many new 5p & 10p coins will we have in the county by the end of the year? Would you rather them just give up £35k now and spend again when more new coins arrive – think not. Well done Shropshire Council.
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Surely the Royal Mint issues a specification of new coinage far in advance of the release date? Perhaps no one opened the letter!
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or understood it more likely.
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“Shropshire Council is a unitary council and therefore has many more ticket machines than Telford & Wrekin Council and costs are surely going to be greater!”
…Telford & Wrekin has been a unitary authority since 1998
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Free parking?
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The easy solution.
1) Make all parking in Shropshire free.
2) Add the shortfall in funds onto council tax for Shropshire residents.
Simples
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