Motorists snub Stoke-on-Trent city centre pay and display car parking
INCOME from the city's pay and display car parks is set to plunge again as plans for a city-wide review of parking charges ground to a "standstill."
Stoke-on-Trent City Council pledged to look into cutting parking charges and trialling special offers last year after the amount of cash it raised from car parks fell to £400,000 less than officers budgeted.
-
CHARGES: Revenue from car parks across Stoke-on-Trent has continued to fall.
But no proposals for revising parking charges have been brought forward and council bean-counters are predicting the authority will again fall short of its income target for the financial year – this time by £359,000.
The authority said the shortfall is the result of fewer people than expected using the city's car parks and a fall in the cash raised from fines issued to motorists who stray into bus lanes.
Business Cards From Only £10.95 Delivered www.myprint-247.co.uk
View detailsOur heavyweight cards have FREE UV silk coating, FREE next day delivery & VAT included. Choose from 1000's of pre-designed templates or upload your own artwork. Orders dispatched within 24hrs.
Terms: Visit our site for more products: Business Cards, Compliment Slips, Letterheads, Leaflets, Postcards, Posters & much more. All items are free next day delivery. www.myprint-247.co.uk
Contact: 01858 468192
Valid until: Friday, May 31 2013
Measures like reintroducing evening and Sunday charges, and charging at Dimensions and Fenton Manor leisure centres, have also failed to meet the council's expectations on income.
Doug Wardle, spokesman for the traders' group the City Centre Partnership, called for the council to "reopen the park and ride debate."
He said: "Charging a premium to use a small car park close to the city centre doesn't suit everybody.
"But if the council was to use a brownfield site a mile away from the city centre and offer all-day parking and a bus ride for £2, it may prove popular.
"I also understand that private car parks in the city are doing well, so the council should perhaps be looking at what they are doing differently.
"It's difficult because everywhere you go people are talking about cutting parking charges to encourage people to come to their city centres."
Figures show income from parking charges has slumped from almost £3.2 million in 2009/10 to about £2.5 million last year.
Officers blamed the 'Tesco factor' for hitting them in the pocket as motorists increasingly take advantage of free parking at the retailer's new Hanley superstore.
Councillor Dave Conway, leader of the opposition City Independents, below, said: "The big question must be what has happened to the review and why it is taking so long. It is at a standstill.
"I can't understand how they are unable to run car parking.
"They have introduced charges at Dimensions and, fair enough, some people are paying.
But a huge amount of people aren't. You can't move on Scotia Road because they are parking for free on the pavements on both sides of the road."
Mum-of-two Melissa Turner, aged 35, of Fenton, said: "The main reason people won't use the council car parks is because they're too expensive.
"You can park for free at Tesco and walk into town, which is what most people do."
Comments
by bucephalus
Tuesday, September 11 2012, 9:58PM
“If you want to charge big city car parking rates then you need a shopping centre that isn't so easily rivalled by Stafford, Newcastle, Leek, and Crewe”
by Anon_mow_cop
Wednesday, September 05 2012, 9:36AM
“As said before £1 all day Saturday parking, free on Sundays, that will fill Hanley again with shoppers.”
by stokieme
Wednesday, September 05 2012, 7:55AM
“Sorry, after years of continual parking charge rises, I no longer snup SOT Council parking, I snup shopping in SOT. I recently went on holiday, but before going I had several great days out shopping in Birmingham, Liverpool, Manchester etc, really cheap on the train, excelletn shopping which made for a full day out.
Take Manchester, get off the train and they provide a free shuttle bus services around the city, just hop on or off the bus where you need to go, really encourages shoppers to visit, now our caring Council, lets fleeze all the shoppers who visit for every penny. They then sit back and can't understand why revenue falls, or shoppers go elsewhere, visit Hanley now on a Saturday and it is dead. If they think City Sentral will change that, then they clearly are deluded.”
by johnboy2011
Tuesday, September 04 2012, 7:30PM
“With the high cost of petrol and diesel is it any wonder motorists don't want to pay high parking charges. I traveled on a bus for the first time in years yesterday from Longton to Hanley, the journey took well over half an hour, and I had to travel with pasengers that looked as though they were about to mug you.”
by Anon_mow_cop
Tuesday, September 04 2012, 2:06PM
“It's a simple fact of life, that people are voting with their wallets when it comes to shopping in Hanley. When are the people in the council going to enter the real world and get this parking charge mess sorted out once and for all.”
by rubythursday
Tuesday, September 04 2012, 1:42PM
“when the council accept development funding from tesco, sainsbo et al why are they surprised when the public use the free facilities provided by these investors?”
by truestokie
Tuesday, September 04 2012, 10:43AM
“When people are penalised for going shopping they will find other ways, then the traders suffer, the council suffer through lack of rates with shops closing, people losing their jobs.
This council cannot see further than the ends of their noses in the trough.
Other towns that give concessions on parking thrive, but hey don't tell this lot, they would probably jack up the price even higher.”
by I_Norris
Tuesday, September 04 2012, 7:27AM
“Jolyteddy: just trying to show what little hope there is when even those involved in Hanley do not appear to know what is planned (or not planned)
many wouldnt need to pay any congestion charge if they were instead using the cheap park n ride, and if as many are saying they avoid Hanley due to high parking charges wont cheap parking on park n ride entice them back in again.
Any way its too late as its been agreed no park n ride for foreseeable future”
by Jolyteddy
Tuesday, September 04 2012, 12:54AM
“A 'congestion style charge' would encourage even more people to stay away.”
by stevenweiss
Monday, September 03 2012, 10:22PM
“Shows what we're dealing with when an entire council have been outwitted by a supermarket”