New parking charges imposed on Newbury roads

Motorists will now have to pay up to £3.50 per day to use the newly marked bays or risk being fined.
Paul Lucas, aged 48, who runs the mobile Paul’s Breakfast Bar and Diner on Faraday Road, said that the measure was “just another tax on people coming to work.”
“You already pay road tax, why pay just to stop your car? There are no shoppers who park here; it is only people who work here that use the spaces.”
Asked if charging people to park near his stall might affect his business Paul said “I will have to wait and see. People don’t like it because it is quite empty today.”
Several residents also complained that the signs were too small to read from a distance and Mr Lucas expressed concerns that the signage was not clear that the first thirty minutes are free for parkers and that this may deter people from parking altogether. He has since erected a sign next to his stall to make customers aware of the allowance.
On Monday the spaces around Faraday Road were less than half-filled and elsewhere the newly installed bays on Pelican Drive, Links Road and Catherine Road were all emptied of vehicles.
There were also unconfirmed reports that cameras may be installed at the privately owned car park at the Pets at Home store on Faraday Road, in an effort to deter motorists using the facilities to avoid paying parking charges.
An employee from the store who wished to remain anonymous said: “It has been discussed but I am not sure if it is going to go ahead.”
The matter of imposing parking charges had previously attracted a large number of objections earlier this year when an informal consultation prompted 171 responses, including three separate petitions, one of which contained 1,719 signatories opposed to the proposal.
Defending the project West Berkshire Council said the new system “should increase the turnover of available road-side parking for shoppers and others visiting Newbury.”
Council spokesperson Peta Stoddart-Crompton said the scheme will also bring significant revenue to West Berkshire, saying: “It is estimated that income from on-street parking charges will be around £15,000 in 2014/15.
“The charges have been set at a rate that is considered reasonable and include in many cases the first half-hour of parking free of charge so as not to adversely impact on the pop-in shopper” she added.
Traffic services manager Mark Cole confirmed last January that by law any revenue from the new charges had to be put back into traffic and highway schemes that would benefit the area.
Roads which now utilise pay and display and pay by phone are:
- Newtown Road (north of St John’s Road)
- West Mills (eastern end)
- Pelican Lane (west side)
- Catherine Road (east side)
- Link Road (west side)
Roads with a pay by phone system only are:
- Newtown Road (south of St Johns Road)
- Old Bath Road (south side)
- Faraday Road
- Ampere Road
- Fleming Road
- Marconi Road
- Kelvin Road