Higher parking charges bring lower income (Mole Valley Liberal Democrats)

Mole Valley Liberal Democrats <info@molevalleylibdems.org.uk>

Higher parking charges bring lower income

December 3, 2009 8:17 PM

Lib Dem campaigner Raj Haque looks at an under-used car park in Leatherhead

Recently published accounts show that Mole Valley's predicted income from car parking charges for the year 2009-2010 will fall short of expectations by more than £250,000. This is despite the steep increases in car park charges in town and village centres.

It seems that the increases from 50p to 60p for one hour and from 70p to £1 for two hours have driven people away from town centre car parks. There's also some evidence to suggest the problem could be caused by drivers parking for one hour instead of two. If this is so, shorter stays mean less business for our shops.

Local Liberal Democrat campaigner Raj Haque comments: "This is a huge fall in the predicted income from our car parks. £250,000 is a major loss to Council income - and the Conservative administration that raised the charges will have to cope with the loss. It seems to me that there's a genuine limit to what can be raised from car parks and that the recent increases have had the reverse effect to what they expected."