Council backs down over small number of planned parking charge hikes

A petition opposing the hikes has been signed by more than 3,500 people, while one of the town's most long-standing and respected businesses, Tanners Wines, said the impact of the costs on its staff could lead it to reconsider its base in the town.

Now the council has published changes to the proposal – but it is yet to be seen if they are enough to address the concerns raised by the BID.

The changes include reductions to the hourly increase planned at Abbey Foregate, changes to proposed evening charges and Sunday plans, as well as an increase for Raven Meadows multi-storey.

The planned hike for season tickets at Abbey Foregate has also been reduced.

But, there has been no change to prices for Frankwell, where the hourly rate will still rise from 80 to £1.20, and the yearly permit will go up from £640 to £960.

Specifically the hourly charge at Abbey Foregate will rise from 60p to 80p – instead of £1 as originally proposed.

In terms of evening charges the council has actually added charges for both St Julians Friars and Abbey Foregate, which had not previously been proposed.

Under the latest proposal there will be a flat rate £1 charge for parking between 6pm and 10pm at Frankwell, Abbey Foregate, St Julians Friars, Bridge Street, St Austins Street, and The Quarry car parks – as well on-street in the town.

For Sundays there will be a charge of one hour maximum at car parks where there is currently no Sunday charge – originally the council had proposed to charge half the normal fee on Sundays.

The fee for Raven Meadows will increase from £2 an hour to £2.40 – to address what critics said was an inconsistency in the council's stated aim of trying to encourage people to park outside of Shrewsbury's river loop.

The size in the increase of the annual season ticket price for Abbey Foregate is also being cut. It will now go from £480 to £640, instead of up to £800 as originally planned.

The method by which the changes will be introduced is also being changed. Instead of telling the public the rises have come into force, the council will now give notice, and have a consultation period.

The review has also rejected a call to make parking in Wem free, rather than 40p an hour.

The latest changes come after the council's scrutiny committee referred the proposals back to cabinet for review.

The council has added that it intends to prepare a plan for improvement and maintenance of its car parks, as well as the introduction of a half price park and ride promotion later this year.

The authority says the aspiration behind the hikes is "to encourage people to change their travel behaviour, particularly inside the river loop, by adopting active travel, using public transport, and parking outside the river loop".

Dan Morris, Shropshire Council’s Cabinet member for parking, said: “As I’ve said previously, we know that not everyone will welcome proposals to increase parking charges, but we ask people to understand the reasons behind them.

“Following feedback from the scrutiny committee, and from Shrewsbury BID, we have reconsidered some of the original proposals and have made some changes which we feel address these comments, while allowing us to meet our original objectives. I thank them for their comments, hope these changes are welcomed, and I hope they’ll be approved by cabinet next week.

“In Shrewsbury the primary objective is to encourage motorists to park outside the river loop – or use other forms of transport – reducing the number of vehicles entering the town centre, helping to increase the number of spaces available for those who need them, and minimising emissions.

“In addition, our 83 car parks have not kept pace with maintenance requirements such as surfacing, lining, signing, drainage, boundaries, green assets and cleaning. The structure of our parking service and our parking strategy also need to be reviewed.”

The council's cabinet will meet to discuss the plans on Wednesday, April 17.