CAR parks in Westbury will begin charging again next week, following Wiltshire Council’s decision to scrap the free first hour initiative.
In a recent meeting the county council announced that parking charges in Westbury would be reduced in all council-owned car parks, and a 15-minute grace period introduced, but the –‘first hour free’ temporary scheme would not continue.
In addition to the charge reductions, both the Westbury Leigh and Warminster Road Zone B car parks will be subjected to a property asset review. The review is intended to explore alternative uses for car parks that have low usage figures.
The High Street car park will abolish its separated zones and all 127 spaces will be long stay. One hour’s parking will cost 30p down from 40p, two hours; 80p down from £1.20 (Zone A) or £1.10 (Zone B), three hours; £1.40 down from £2, four hours will cost £2, five hours £3, and an all-day ticket will cost £5.
Warminster Road Zone A and Westfield House car parks will see reductions of 10p or more per hour. One hour will now cost 20p, two hours 70p, three hours £1.20, four hours £1.80, five hours £2.50, and an all-day ticket will cost £4.
In each area, the parking review showed that the majority of respondents opted in favour of reduced charges.
The prices have been amended to provide affordable parking options for shoppers and workers, to discourage them from parking on residential streets.
The combined current income of all council car parks in Westbury comes to £46,893, and would have been nearly halved had the council kept the first hour free; the forecasted cost of which would be £22,300 per year.
However, critics say the loss of free parking will impact the town centre, as smaller shops struggle to compete with supermarkets that can offer free parking.
During the free parking trial at the end of last year, 48% more cars visited the town centre over the Christmas months, compared with the same period in 2013 when car parks charged.
Cllr David Jenkins was instrumental in the campaign for the hour’s free parking in 2012.
Cllr Jenkins said, “My initial reaction to the new charges is that it would have been nice to keep the free hour. However, it is important to be realistic, and to have the charges reduced is a good result.
“The review shows that in some cases over 50% of respondents opted for the reduced charge, which shows that by and large people have got what they want.
“The consultation was very thorough and actively encouraged people to make themselves heard, and I think the outcome reflects that.
“While it’s not a perfect answer it’s definitely a step in the right direction, and who knows what the future might hold!”
Wiltshire Council’s new ‘grace period’, which will be introduced across the county, means that all vehicles displaying a valid ticket will be allowed an extra 15 minutes after the expiry time before a fine is issued.
The investigation of the Westbury Leigh and Warminster Road car parks was announced last year, and has been reiterated in the review report.
Despite Westbury Leigh residents being upset in November at the possible loss of their “vital” car park, the consultation showed that only 23.7% of respondents across Westbury were opposed to the asset review. 29.7% were in favour of it and 46.6% were indifferent.
Westbury Town Council recently approved an asset transfer of the car park from Wiltshire Council to Westbury Leigh Community Project Ltd, on the condition that the council fixes drainage problems and other minor issues beforehand.
More details of the parking review can be found at www.wiltshire.gov.uk
