Tomorrow ( Thursday 29 September) the LibDem/Labour/Independent Coalition will be making a decision that is likely to have a massive impact on both residents and business in the borough. They will be agreeing a proposal for the largest increase in car park charges in nearly 20 years.
They will be more than doubling almost every charge, extending the charging period from 6pm to 10pm, removing free Sunday parking and removing the 30-minute charge.
None of these exorbitant changes were consulted on which goes directly against their oft stated mantra of them being the party of openness and transparency. They also stated they would listen to residents; well, you cannot listen to them if you do not consult them!
Wokingham Conservatives know very well about the dynamics of charges versus usage. It is about how attractive the “offer” is to encourage visitors to our towns, to come and park and visit our shops, restaurants and pubs and spend money. The more attractive the offer is the more likely visitors will come. If your offer is less attractive then by providing lower parking charges than neighbouring areas it becomes more attractive.
We are currently going through a cost-of-living crisis so the timing of these increases could not be worse. Businesses are slowly recovering from the huge financial hit from the pandemic together with energy cost rises. Many businesses will not be able to cope with the lower footfall and will simply cease trading. Town Centre restaurants, without a car park, will equally suffer as residents go elsewhere where parking is free.
Everyone knows, except the Lib/Lab/Independent Coalition, that doubling charges will not increase usage or “better use of the car parks” as the report states. Initially the Coalition said they would have to take money from essential services. In recent days the truth has come out which means the impact is on highways maintenance so essential services are protected.
So why are they doing this?
Conservatives recognised there was a parking income shortfall during Covid but earlier this year, we made the conscious decision not to increase charges because we wanted to continue to support local town centre business.
We are very concerned that these swingeing increases will simply drive small businesses in our Town Centres to the wall.
It would be much better to leave car parking charges alone and encourage more use which helps both retailers and Council revenue.
At the last set of elections in May residents voted for a new Liberal Democrat led coalition and therefore democracy has given them the power to do this.
