Newbury parking charges set to be introduced

West Berkshire Council’s member for highways and transport, Pamela Bale, (Con, Pangbourne) has been advised to approve plans to introduce parking bays on roads including Bartholomew Street (outside of the Pedestrian Zone), Broadway, Catherine Road, Cheap Street, Faraday Road industrial area (including Ampere Road, Fleming Road, Kelvin Road and Marconi Road), Kings Road West, Link Road, Newtown Road, Northbrook Street (outside of the Pedestrian Zone), Old Bath Road, Pelican Lane and West Mills.
The council has said that the charges are being introduced to encourage a ‘turn-over of the available parking spaces’, which would benefit local traders and to discouraging all day commuter parking.
The council estimate that the changes will bring in £25,000 to £30,00 in extra revenue.
At the start of the year, an informal consultation prompted 171 responses, including three separate petitions, one of which contained 1,719 signatures objecting to the proposal.
Several adjustments were made following the consultations but more objections were received during the supplementary statutory consultation.
A number of these mentioned the legality of the scheme after a similar scheme in Barnet, north London, resulted in a High Court defeat after it was ruled that Barnet breached the law by increasing the cost of controlled parking zone permits in order to raise revenue.
When West Berkshire's scheme was first proposed, a member of the council's strategic support unit, said: “As well as these benefits, charging to park on-street helps us to achieve our overall savings proposals and raises much needed revenue that will help the council to maintain important front line services. We would effectively be raising income by making best use of available road space.”
However, West Berkshire Council has since argued its proposals are lawful because any surplus income made would be spent on a range of associated items including traffic wardens, bollards and school crossings.
Opposition spokesman for highways and transport, Keith Woodhams (Lib Dem, Thatcham West), said that considering the numbers of people objecting to the plans, the council was ignoring local opinion.
He said: “The idea that charging for parking in the centre of Newbury would “encourage a turn-over of the available parking spaces, which would benefit local traders” is farcical.
“The parking bays already have time limited parking to do this.
“The Conservative administration at West Berkshire Council has made it very clear that they are not supporting local businesses or the economy in the centre of Newbury, by introducing on street parking charges.
“This is in the face of strong opposition from local retailers and businesses who signed a 1,719 petition opposing the scheme.”
However, chairman of the council’s Overview and Scrutiny Management Commission, Brian Bedwell (Con, Calcot), said that he had no objections to the proposals as he was satisfied that the council had taken note of the comments in the consultation and had made adjustments accordingly.
Bank Holiday parking charges will also be decided today.
If approved by Mrs Bale, drivers could be charged to park in Newbury car parks as well as several adjoining roads on bank holidays.
It has been estimated that £10,000 could be raised from bank holiday charges in a year.
See next week’s Newbury Weekly News for reaction to the decisions.