Free parking set to be scrapped despite review

A decision on controversial plans to scrap free parking across several towns looks set to go ahead despite a council review.

Babergh District Council in Suffolk in April voted in favour of parking fee changes in Sudbury, Hadleigh and Lavenham to help offset a £6.7m budget gap predicted over the next four years.

However, the decision was called in after criticism by councillors with the council's Overview and Scrutiny Committee, who asked for the review.

Deputy council leader, John Ward, said the charging plans would still be recommended and a final decision would be made at a later date.

Mr Ward added: "We’ve sought extensive feedback, thoroughly considered every option, and acted on every recommendation made in the last six months – including further exploring the option of one-hour free parking."

"We have fully debated and scrutinised this issue," Mr Ward said.

"However, after this huge amount of work, the recommendation to cabinet remains that we introduce modest, short-term charges - and do not implement one-hour free parking, as we cannot afford to."

The plans would see people having to pay £1 for short stay parking for the first hour, or £1 for two hours in long stay.

The council said these fees were lower than those of neighbouring authorities and there were no plans to introduce charges on Sundays or bank holidays.

However some feared the charges would reduce the number of customers heading to the town centre as well as putting off employees of retail businesses.

The cabinet will meet again on 2 August to discuss other considerations - including a one-hour free tariff option - and assess the economic impact.

A new report from the council suggests the one-hour free parking would cost the council up to £664,000 over the next three years, which would need to be met from reserves.

However, it does recommend freezing the cost of a season ticket at £250 to support workers who needed to park all day.

This is in addition to reducing all-day parking from £3 to £2.50.

Council leader, Deborah Saw, said: "We do not believe High Street success is defined by parking charges.

"It is decided by many factors, including what they offer residents and visitors – and we believe our towns offer a huge amount and are worth a modest parking fee to visit."

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