'It just shouldn’t happen' - Row brews over proposal to charge residents £60 to park outside their homes
A row is brewing over car parking in Welshpool after a proposal was made to charge residents £60 to park outside their own homes.
Welshpool Town Council’s planning committee recently put forward a proposal to introduce on street parking permits in Cobden Street, Mount Street and High Street which has caused a backlash from disgruntled residents.
They were upset at having not been informed of the proposals, which were put forward after a similar scheme was trialled in Newtown. The town council are asking Powys County Council to introduce the idea, but at a meeting on Wednesday it was decided the council would have to go out for a consultation.
County councillor Phil Pritchard said the council had not been transparent enough in the process and refused to agree with the idea of putting a £60 charge on residents.
He said: “I have a strong view on this that if residents want it they can have it, but if they don’t then we can’t force it on them.
“We know there is a parking problem in Welshpool but I can’t agree with charging people £60 to park outside there own houses, it is their own houses and it just shouldn’t happen.
“I feel the council should have been a little bit more open about it and advertised it a bit more, but there will be a consultation meeting and a leaflet drop.
“And what I will say is it should only be put in place on certain streets or estates if the majority in that area want it to happen.
“These houses were built when not many people had cars, but times have changed so I don’t think we should just bowl in and change everything.”
Parking has been a major issue in Welshpool, and that problem has increased since Tesco put a three hour parking restriction on their car park.
That has meant that people who parked there for work purposes have had to find alternative solutions.
County councillor Graham Breeze has said parking problems are worse than they have ever been, and they need resolving.
He has called on the county council to reduce rates in their car parks, which at the moment are derelict in the town.
He added: “The car park in Berriew Street run by the council is derelict, so I think the county council should to a pilot scheme and reduce rates and see how it goes.
“The more people who park in those car parks, the more people we could get into the town and even increase revenue.The problem has grown and it will continue to get worse. It is too expensive for people to park and something needs to be done.”
