Morpeth traders call for parking charges fairness

Posted by The Journal on Aug 20, 09 08:54 AM in News

Traders who are leading a campaign against the inequality of car parking charges across Northumberland say they are encouraged by the support of a senior opposition councillor.

Paying to park in Morpeth

Peter Jackson - leader of the Conservative and Independent group on the county council - has told Morpeth chamber of trade it is unfair that drivers have to pay ÃÂ£1.10p an hour to park in Berwick but can do so free of charge in towns such as Blyth and Ashington.

Coun Jackson said his group is opposed to the current charging system, although he stopped short of fully backing the chamber's call for a standard, 50p-an-hour charge across the whole of Northumberland.

Morpeth traders are setting up an action group and have launched a website - www.parknorthumberland.org.uk - as part of their campaign to persuade the unitary county council to create a level playing field on parking fees.

At present motorists visiting towns like Berwick, Alnwick, Hexham and Morpeth have to pay between 50p and ÃÂ£1.10p an hour, while parking remains free in Blyth Valley and Wansbeck.

Morpeth traders claim the county council is missing out on potential income of up to ÃÂ£4m a year by not charging for the 3,000 council-owned spaces in south east Northumberland.

They invited Coun Jackson to speak at their latest meeting in a bid to win his group's support for the campaign, as a major review of parking policy is currently being carried out by the Liberal Democrat-led authority.

Yesterday Coun Jackson said his group's stance on car parking charges was not exactly the same as the chamber's, but there was plenty of common ground.

"We can certainly see the inequalities in the present system in which Berwick, one of the poorest communities in the county, has a charge of ÃÂ£1.10p an hour while in some other towns drivers pay nothing at all.

"There has to be some fairness here but we also have to take into account traffic management issues and the availability of parking.

"It is not as simple as just having the same charges right across the county.

"There needs to be a fair and equitable criteria everywhere, while looking for what is the best solution in each particular community."

Charles Robinson, chairman of the chamber's parking sub-committee, said: "Broadly we were very satisfied with what Coun Jackson said.

"I am confident that he and his group will come out and support us fully in due course.

"We now have a single county council and it is fundamentally unfair not to have a level playing field on parking charges. I can't believe any fair-minded councillor would disagree with that."

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2 Comments

anna - ashington resident said:

Its is unfair to charge for parking especially in Ashington, the car parks are awful and hardly any money is spent on the towns appearance, at least in Morpeth and Berwick you can see where the money goes, lovely well maintained towns and car parks. Blyth and Newbiggen have both had a lot of money spent on there appearance in the last few years, but Ashington was missed out. If Northumberland County Council expect us to pay to park in Ashington, they need to put there money where there mouths are and start investing in the dilapidated towns appearance!

August 20, 2009 11:01 AM

Dave said:

This level playing field concept is idealistic and out of touch with reality. In some towns parking can be free because there is plenty of parking space and it encourages trade. In towns where parking is limited, a reasonable charge ensures that there is a fair turnover of parking spaces by preventing people hogging a space all day. Traders are pretty clueless if they think that calling for charges in all towns is going to win them public support.

September 5, 2009 11:39 AM