11th hour bid to scrap new evening and Sunday parking charges
An 11th hour bid to stop Sunday and evening parking charges being introduced at borough council-run car parks has been made by a Stone community leader.
Plans to increase hourly parking fees by 10p and start charging £1 for overnight and Sunday stays were announced by Stafford Borough Council last year.
The new charges were due to come into force in January. But while there were no objections relating to Stafford’s car parks the proposals met with strong opposition in Stone, where they are set to affect facilities in Crown Street and Christchurch Way.
Stone Town Council member Jim Davies accused the borough authority of treating the area as a “cash cow” and there were also objections from local businesses, residents and a petition from Christ Church, which is next to the Christchurch Way car park.
Stafford Borough Council’s cabinet defended the new charges and increases at its February meeting before giving the green light for parking orders to be made confirming the changes.
But when the parking orders were considered days later by the council’s economic development and planning scrutiny committee Stone member Philip Leason called for the Sunday and evening charges not to be introduced across the two towns.
He said: “I raised concerns about the increase in parking charges and my concerns are referred to in the objections from town councillors, residents, business owners and Christ Church stating how detrimental the new charges for night parking and all day Sunday will be for the economy of Stone and quality of life for local residents.
“The business owners have worked hard to maintain a high level of occupancy in Stone and the new (evening) charge will do nothing to enhance the night time economy of the town – it seems a real kick in the teeth for those trying to improve it. We are told parking is cheaper than in Stafford but this is rightly so – we don’t have the variety of shops or large retail units so there should be a difference between car parking charges in Stafford and Stone.
“It will affect residents – (parking) will move out into residential areas and increase the congestion there. It will also affect people attending clubs and societies and using community facilities.
“We are told the borough is multicultural and we cannot favour one religion over another – looking at other places of worship many have their own car parking or car parks nearby. Many churches don’t have their own car parks and it’s not only a spiritual thing but companionship to those who are elderly.
“I would ask if the council could consider increasing the car parking charges but the charges for overnight and Sunday parking are scrapped.”
Fellow members were asked to put forward a fresh proposal for cabinet to consider keeping evening and Sunday parking free, but the committee voted against the move.
Councillor Marnie Phillips said: “I have a lot of friends and family who live in Stone who go out on a Saturday or Friday night and I did have conversations with people about how they felt about the parking charges.
“One of the things my son mentioned was it costs a pound – that’s not even the price of a pint. If you’re going to be going out and drinking you are going to be spending more than a pound to do so.
“With Stone being so different to Stafford in relation to where the car parks are it’s felt that people are more than capable of nipping out if they know they are going to have more time out than they intended and sticking a one pound ticket on the car. In summer most people in Stone walk into town and home again.”
Councillor Ray Sutherland said: “Everyone empathises with the people who have to use car parks and this isn’t just in Stafford – it’s everywhere. The fact is car parks cost money to maintain.”
