More car parking pain on the way – including Sunday and public holiday charges

As marlborough.news warned on January 4, there are more changes to Wiltshire’s car park regime – including some hefty increases in charges – coming shortly.  These were passed without further comment by members of Wiltshire Council’s Cabinet at their meeting on Tuesday (January 30).

These increases will be in addition to the across the board ‘inflationary’ eleven per cent increases on basic parking charges (Option 1 in the recent consultation) which come into effect on February 1 – not, unfortunately, as Councillor Bridget Wayman told her Cabinet colleagues, on 1 April. 

These new increases and changes will be consulted on during March and April and become operational in August.

They include charging on Sundays and on Public Holidays in most car parks – perhaps the most radical of all the Options proposed. 

There will also be no allocation to town councils of ‘free parking days’ during November and December.  This will make, it has been stated, Marlborough’s Christmas Lights Switch On and the High Street Christmas tree both financially unaffordable.

Also passed was the Option to base season ticket charges on the standard rate charges. This will involve some very large increases – especially difficult for people who come into the town by car on a daily basis to work.

Cabinet agreed that Council car parks that are now free of charge, will in future be charged for.  This will include, for example, parking on Devizes Market Place.  Another part of the proposals is to ‘harmonise’ residents parking permits – not something that will affect Marlborough – yet.

The only Option on the consultation that will not be brought in is the one to reduce the ‘grace period’ before a fine is imposed for overstaying from fifteen minutes to ten minutes.

Assuming all these proposals go through after the cabinet approval, the net advantage to Wiltshire Council’s budget during 2018-2019 will be an additional £500,000. 

Addressing the meeting, the cabinet member for car parking, Councillor Bridget Wayman, said that subsidies to bus routes and concessionary fares cost the council £7.838million and the net income from car parking is £3.695million – leaving a shortfall to be made up from other Council income of £4.143million.