Shropshire street parking permits set to double in cost

Shropshire Council’s cabinet has backed moves to increase on-street parking permits for residents across the county from £50 to £100 a year.

There are currently on-street schemes operating in Bridgnorth, Ludlow and Oswestry – with permits in Oswestry currently available free of charge.

But now other areas can opt into the parking policy.

Misunderstood

Labour’s Alan Mosley said over the last 18 months he had held two public meetings with Castlefields residents and only one or two people wanted parking permits.

He said: “Residents-only parking is clearly misunderstood by the residents, they think they will get a parking space.

“If it’s a household with two or three cars they might not get enough permits.

“Residents-only parking can lead to significant conflict within neighbourhoods.”

Lib Dem leader Roger Evans said that doubling the cost was “quite a steep jump”.

Councillor Steve Davenport, portfolio holder for highways and transport, said the council was not allowed to make money from the strategy.

He said: “I don’t believe £100 a year is expensive. This is driven by demand.”

Shropshire Council’s leader Peter Nutting said a proper consultation will take place and the scheme will not be imposed anywhere it is not wanted.

“Common sense will prevail,” he said.

Virtual

The new parking policy will cost the council almost £120,000 to put in place.

The cost includes paying for a new virtual permitting process, which would allow residents to change and update their details – such as change of vehicle – online and by telephone.

The council said any residential parking permit purchased before the new pricing policy becomes effective will be honoured until its expiry date, at which point replacement permits will be charged at the new rate.

Residential permit holders will also now receive an annual visitor permit allowance for no additional charge.

The council said the additional income received from residents’ permits over three years will cover the implementation costs.

Visitors

The authority says the main reason for the scheme is a lack of parking space for residents due to existing restrictions and the presence of visitor and commuter vehicles.

The existing policy allows residents to purchase books of 20 half-day parking permits which can be given to visitors.

The new proposal is that each property in the area would be entitled to receive a maximum allocation of up to 200 hours of visitors parking per year.

This is the second part of the authority’s parking strategy, after a “linear model” for parking tariffs was approved earlier this year.

New fees approved by Shropshire Council’s cabinet in January will see all car parks and on-street zones sorted into seven bands as part of a new ‘linear pricing’ approach.

Now Shropshire Council’s cabinet has approved a decision on the second part of the policy.