Thousands have say on Shropshire parking changes

Shropshire Council’s consultation on new car parking charges closed last week and the authority is now in the process of collating the responses, which it says will be “carefully considered” before it decides on any changes.

It is anticipated that a final proposal on the charges will be presented to the council’s cabinet in December, with any new scheme being introduced early next year.

Councillor Steve Davenport, the council’s cabinet member for highways and transport, said: “The 12-week consultation into our proposed new parking strategy has now closed and I’d like to say a big thank you to everyone that submitted a response.

“More than 2000 responses have been received, across all four parts of the consultation These responses will now be carefully considered before the final proposals are presented to Shropshire Council’s cabinet on December 6.

“Subject to approval of any proposals, a further formal traffic regulation order consultation and approval will be required before they are implemented. However, we hope that the new strategy will be implemented from early 2018.”

The proposals have met with criticism, although the council has argued that the strategy makes it easier for people to understand how much they pay for parking.

Last month around 50 business representatives attended a meeting arranged by Shrewsbury’s Business Improvement District (BID), where they told council officials of their worries about the plans.

The council plans include a number of changes to the way people are charged to park. They include introducing different cost bands for car parks, and a ‘linear’ pricing system that charges the same amount per hour but works out more expensive for longer stays.

For Frankwell Car Park in Shrewsbury the changes would see people charged £7 to park for 10 hours. Currently a 10-hour stay costs £4.

If introduced the changes could also see the end of the 15-minute ‘pop and shop’ grace period, and Shrewsbury’s £1 to park on Sundays offer – a move which was described as potentially “disastrous” by one business owner.

There have also been criticism from other groups, including bosses at Bridgnorth Medical Practice. They have concerns that some staffwho work at the Northgate Health Centre for more than ten hours will be charged at least £7 a day – more than double the £3 it costs currently.

Speaking when the strategy was revealed Councillor Davenport said: “In simple terms we want to offer an improved parking system that is hassle-free and that makes use of the latest technology.

“We want a service that offers value for money and that is consistent across the county. The proposals in the new draft strategy are all intended to help us achieve these aims. We want to make it easy for our customers to understand how much it costs to pay to park – in our car parks and on street – and the easiest way to pay.”

Councillor Davenport has said that any additional revenue generated from the charges would be reinvested in to the parking system and used to upgrade surfaces, widen parking bays, and improve lighting and signage.