Breakthrough in Welshpool car park price quarrel
The council spent nearly £50,000 on consultants to review the car park price hikes proposed last year with motorists shocked to learn that short term parking fees were ending and it would cost £2.50 to park for an hour in council owned car parks.
But it was later confirmed that it will return to long-stay car parks where a town doesn’t have any short stay facility, meaning that Welshpool will miss out.
And in a double whammy, the cost of 2-4hr parking and all-day stays will go up to compensate for the re-introduction, meaning that Welshpool will technically be funding cheaper parking in towns like Builth Wells, Crickhowell, Llanidloes, Machynlleth, Presteigne and Ystradgynlais.
The town’s Cllr Graham Breeze led the calls for a re-think, and has been persistent in demanding a rethink.
And it now appears that it will be happening with Powys County Council’s cabinet members agreeing to reconsider the findings from the cross-party review group.
"Nice to wake up to read a statement from Powys County Council this morning confirming that the Cabinet will take another look at the car parking review proposals," said Cllr Breeze.
"The paper taken to council by officers did not reflect the views expressed by councillors or residents during the costly consultation which took place so I welcome the decision by the Cabinet to take another look.
"Some areas, including Welshpool, would suffer greatly under the recommendations in the original documents. There has to be equity across the whole county.
"The people of the Welshpool area were being badly let down by the original pricing proposals. We need to revive our town centres - not kill them off.
Having withdrawn a proposal to restore reduced prices for one-hour parking in all car parks across the county to allow a review to take place I was annoyed to see the consultation take nearly 12 months to come back before council and by its content."
After completion of the review, the cabinet report with recommendations was discussed in detail by the council’s scrutiny committee last month. The council’s cabinet members have agreed that they need to take some time to reflect on the scrutiny committees’ comments and reconsider the recommendations before taking any further action.
Cabinet members will shortly be holding a focus group to help clearly define a way forward that enables residents and visitors to park safely and sustainably in Powys car parks and is achievable within council budgets.
“We appreciate that car parking arrangements in the county is a very emotive subject for our residents and businesses.” Explains Cllr Jackie Charlton, Cabinet Member for a Greener Powys.
“It is important for us to consider all options and take on board the feedback from the review group, the scrutiny committee, our residents, businesses and visitors.
“We are committed to finding a common ground that is acceptable to our communities, but is also a feasible, sustainable and affordable option for the council to deliver within our tight budget constraints. It is obvious that we need to go back a few steps and relook at the recommendations to make sure we are doing the right thing.”
The politically balanced cross-party review group of local councillors also included representatives from town councils and local businesses where car parks are sited, and was led by an independent, impartial consultant.
As well as car parking tariffs, the review group considered how best to manage all the council’s car parks, town centre footfall, the impacts and benefits of local active travel schemes, available resources, the needs of the local communities and the council’s Sustainable Transport Hierarchy.
The council said that work will continue over time to address all these aspects with a vision to create sustainable car parks fit for the future of Powys.
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