The Liberal Democrat position on Car Parking

8.59.27am BST (GMT +0100) Tue 8th Aug 2006

Liberal Democrats are committed to reviewing aspects of the current car parking charges to ease the burden on low paid shop and office workers, to improve the economic vitality of the town and to raise income for the Borough Council.

Until next May's elections the Conservative administration are the only people able to change the car parking charges. We have raised the issue but the Conservative administration has refused to act.

Currently the Borough Council's income from car parking remains below the budgeted levels because people are not willing to pay the current charges. If this continues the Conservatives will build up a significant deficit by the end of the year. If they were wise they would take action now. However, they are refusing to do so.

If they were wise they would look at the various suggestions that the Liberal Democrats have put forward relating to car parking charges. For the avoidance of doubt I will spell them out here:-

1. Develop a pricing strategy to encourage the economic, social and cultural vitality of the town. We first raised this in March 2004 when we 'called in' the Tory administration's decision on car parking charges that year. They continue to ignore this sensible suggestion.

2. Establish a partnership with town centre businesses (for example, through the Town Centre Partnership) to provide lower cost parking for key, low paid workers in each company.

3. Review the discounting of monthly and annual car parking tickets to increase the advantages of purchasing a season ticket. Introduce a quarterly season ticket. Consider an 'easy payment' scheme to encourage the take up of season tickets.

4. Re-designate the most convenient car parking areas e.g. The Ridings, St Peters Way and the lower floors of town centre multi-storeys) as 'shoppers' car parks so they are not used for long stay parking but are available for those visiting and spending money in the town centre.

5. Re-price the upper floors of town centre multi-storeys (which are frequently empty) to make them cheaper for long stay parking so attracting more people into them.

6. Open out-of-centre car parks close to existing bus routes - for example, at Sixfields where there is plenty of space about 200 yards from the Weedon Road bus routes - as an instant informal 'park and ride'.

These are ideas but they could quickly be converted into fully worked out and costed proposals.