Council accused of dragging heels over parking plan

A councillor has accused a local authority of dragging its heels over a "long-awaited" car parking strategy for the district.

Simon Whelband, of the Conservatives, said Harborough District Council had also failed to update the "ageing" pay and display machines in council-owned car parks.

Mr Whelband said the district had been waiting for months for the strategy to come through.

The Lib Dem-Labour-Green-led council said the strategy's implementation had been affected by a "number of factors" but added it was working on progressing with it.

According to officials, the strategy is set to cover car parking charges in Market Harborough, Lutterworth and the wider area as well as the "capacity, location and the need for off-street parking provision".

The strategy also aims to look into future demand and "ensure the right mix of short and long stay car parks" are available, the Local Democracy Reporting Service said.

Mr Whelband said there were several more stages to overcome before it became a reality, and claimed time was running out as the district's current pay and display machines ran on 3G – a service that is set to be switched off by the end of the year.

He added: "This should have been sorted out months ago.

"When the Lib Dems, Labour and Greens took over the running of the council, I was concerned because none of these parties have adopted particularly pro-motorist policies, so I thought car parking would not be at the top of their priority list. And so it has come to pass, they've sat on this for months and now we are facing major problems."

Green councillor, Darren Woodiwiss, the council's cabinet lead for climate change and environment, said: "The council fully understands the importance of its car parks for businesses and visitors to the town and has already frozen the price of using the car parks for 2024-25.

"The council is also using the car parks to support a number of local schools at drop-off and pick-up times."

A council spokesperson added: "A number of factors have affected the timescale for the draft strategy, including recruitment to a new car parking manager, and we are awaiting the outcomes of a number of other key pieces of work and studies, including a review of The Symington Building and surrounding car parking areas and the introduction of a national car parking app.

"A separate project is under way to ensure that residents are able to pay for parking after 3G networks are switched off, which is due to take place at some point in 2025 but no dates have been confirmed."

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