Plea to keep free winter parking in Newquay

Concerns have been raised over a possible threat to free winter parking in some car parks in Newquay.

Five sites in the town could be transferred to a private operator as part of money-saving plans by Cornwall Council.

Members of the resort's business improvement district (BID) said they feared free parking could be lost under different management and that would deter visitors.

The council said it would look to impose conditions to keep parking prices in line with other car parks and to retain free parking periods.

The authority is looking to offload about 25 of its car parks to a private company, including three in Launceston and two in St Ives.

Of those, 14 are currently free to park in after 16:00 and the other 11 do not impose any charges between the start of November and end of March.

The proposal is part of the council's bid to de-centralise thousands of assets it owns to help it save £2m.

It argued a private operator would be able to improve enforcement through installing automatic number plate recognition (ANPR) cameras in car parks, and this would increase parking fee revenue - which would all still come to the council.

However, Mark Warren, the manager of Newquay BID, expressed concern about losing free winter parking in the town's five car parks.

He said: "It's a huge benefit. It drives more footfall because people know they can park up, enjoy the town centre and not worry about any charges.

"To take it away would be another nail in the coffin for what we're trying to do on our high streets, which is to keep them alive all year round."

Olly Monk, council portfolio holder for planning and housing, said it could "impose strict controls" to keep fees in line with other car parks.

He said: "I've got one of these car parks in my division. I want free winter parking to remain. I see no reason why we can't keep the winter free period in place."

In a statement, Cornwall Council said: "We want to ensure that all our assets are well managed and that we bring in partners and other organisations to ensure a more local focus and reduction in costs and responsibilities for the council."

Members of the council's economic growth scrutiny committee are due to consider whether to endorse the proposals for the car parks at a meeting on Tuesday.

A final decision is due to be made by the authority's cabinet at a later date.

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