Conservative Councillors on the Isle of Wight Council believe that current parking arrangements and fees should not be changed until a strategic review of all parking issues has been completed.
In a letter issued today, the Conservatives have said:
A review has been promised but so far all we have is a parking order. This rightly sparked a storm of public concern. Consultation on this parking order isn’t a review, let alone an effective and comprehensive strategic one.
Article continues below this advertisement The Executive Member responsible for parking, Cllr John Gilbey, admitted as much at the last Council Meeting when, following intense questioning from both members of the public and scrutiny from Conservative members, he accepted that there needed to be a comprehensive review, and promised that this would take place before any changes were actioned.
We expect this promise to be kept.
The previous Conservative administration regularly considered the imposition of increased charges but for six years in succession decided that the economic and social difficulties that increases would cause, were too great to justify them and charges were frozen for each of those six years.
A review is now essential because the present draconian proposals introduce extensive new charges, both on-street and in Council car parks, where no charge has been levied before and without any assessment of impact. We believe these new charges will damage shops and businesses which rely on these free periods to support trade and maintain turnover in Town Centres around the Island.
We have also listened to the concerns expressed by businesses and traders and believe the extension of charging until 8 p.m. will damage the evening economy and reduce business for the many town centre pubs, restaurants, and cafes. This charge is designed to make money and is unnecessary for parking management. In fact we believe in retail areas it will damage the economy without raising money because both locals and tourists will avoid visiting these venues until they can park without charge. Severe problems also arise for the host of community organisations that meet in the evening, such as swimming clubs, sports and social organisations, cubs and brownies, all of which rely upon free parking.
Article continues below this advertisement In residential areas, residents who have been able to park in their own street will now have to pay every day, as soon as they arrive home from work. The cost of some of the parking permits are badly structured, leading to residents buying commuter permits, because it’s cheaper to do so, and is likely to encourage them to shop on the mainland.
Where is the ‘re-engineering’ that the Council Leader constantly tells us is happening- such as putting in place discounted measures to encourage tourists to buy parking permits when booking their holidays, thus improving the councils cash flow and ensuring additional purchases. There are options which can all raise revenue, improve parking management, and help rather than hinder businesses. Yet we see no evidence of fresh and innovative thinking.
We need to be assured, that through a proper review, charges made to manage on-street parking solely cover the costs of that management and do not subsidise other services. Since the decision of the High Court last year that parking costs must be reasonable and used to manage congestion, with surpluses paying for a few strictly controlled items, increasing on-street charges clearly cannot be used as a revenue raising tactic.
So what should a strategic review cover?
- We would expect any review to include not just the anticipated increase in revenue that might be generated, but the specific local economic impact upon communities, shops and other businesses that rely on free or cheap local parking availability to sustain the economic health of the local area.
- We believe the review should aim to retain the much valued initial free parking periods and introduce a fairer system across the Island, whilst accepting that there are particular local circumstances which could justify differing times and lengths of free parking.
- We believe the review should also aim to scrap the proposed evening parking charges.
- We believe that the review should recognise that different areas on the Island have different needs and different circumstances to be taken into account.
- We also believe the review should canvass opinion and accept ideas for improvement from a wide range of stakeholders and this should include residents and businesses affected by the proposed changes, the wider view from the Island Business Forum, The Chamber of Commerce and the Federation of Small Businesses, as well as residents, Community Groups and those who can give an informed view on the impact of changes on our tourist economy- such as Visit IOW – only then can such a review be accepted a being thorough and comprehensive.
- A strategic review should seek to put in place an effective and fair system which can be expected to endure for at least 5 years without further tinkering at the edges.
- We expect the review to consider whether the relatively small amount of extra income expected to be gained from these ill-thought out proposals could actually be achieved by amendments elsewhere in the councils £360M budget.
- It is accepted that this may take several months and as a result the proposed £100k target for additional income in the present financial year will not be met. To address this the budget will have to be recast – and dont forget the current administration of existing arrangements has failed to ensure proper enforcement contributing to expected income shortfall.
If the Independent administration is prepared to take on board these concerns and views then we are more than prepared to work with them to help them deliver a fairer system and ‘Work together for the Island.’
What we will not do is to endorse the present proposals as they stand as we do not believe them to be in the best interests of the Island!
