Will Cheddar get a say on the increases to parking charges proposed by Somerset Council, and what happens if they say no? That's the question local Conservative campaigner Graham Godwin-Pearson took to Full Council today, asking, during Public Question Time, the Executive Member for Transport whether a local veto would be supported by the Lib Dem administration.
Graham's question was as follows:-
In July, the Executive Member for Transport told me that the Parking Review has taken into consideration local circumstances, rather than being a one-size-fits-all approach. Looking at the report however, it very much seems that instead of a one-size-fits-all, it’s a 5-tiers-fit-all approach, and I don’t see much consideration of local circumstances.
In Cheddar this amounts to a proposed increase of roughly 50%, which is significant given that there’s scant public transport alternative for those too far, too young or too frail to walk or cycle into the village.
It strikes me that car parks are not geese that lay golden eggs and increasing parking charges will reduce demand, affecting footfall for local businesses already under pressure.
My prediction is that more drivers will park on residential streets, while some visitors will be deterred altogether - and that’s the bit that worries me the most. We need to be bringing visitors in, not putting them off.
The proposals are out there now, so I have two questions:-
1. Has the council engaged the ward members, Parish and Town Councils, local businesses and residents on the increases, and what does that consultation now look like?
2. Should the community roundly reject the proposals, will the council trust that locals know their areas better than external consultants, and not press ahead?
Somerset Conservatives have set up a petition to stop the parking charge increases. You can find and sign that petition here:-
Stop the parking hike
Church Street and Cliff Street are currently the only locations being considered as part of this parking review. Axbridge Square, the business park in Cheddar and other locations are being looked-at separately. There's more information and all of the documents to download here.
