We would like to see a pause in putting up parking charges again next year. Business is having a tough time and is potentially facing higher costs after tomorrow's budget. As a council, we should be supporting business not sucking it dry.
These Lab/Lib parking proposals are yet more of the same old, same old, only taking into account the council's desire to make yet more money, but paying no heed to the difficult position businesses find themselves in.
The focus on careering towards more walking, cycling, use of public transport and park and ride, without taking on board the impact of further parking price increases on local town centres and tourism is worrying.
Tourism has been hard hit this year as charges are simply too high for many visitors.
Reopening Sturry Rd Park & Ride has proven disastrous. It may have been a Lab/Lib manifesto commitment, but that doesn't mean the administration should pursue a lame duck to the detriment of the council's finances and ability to provide services to residents or good value to taxpayers. Sturry Rd is barely used and has been heavily subsidised by parking increases elsewhere (including Canterbury and Whitstable) and has sucked in money that could have been more effectively used on providing other council services.
Like much of the proposed parking policy, it's all moving too quickly for our residents and is coming at too high a cost for businesses which are struggling to recover after the cost of living crisis.
We'd call on the Lab/Lib council to show more restraint and be more conservative (with a small c).
We also hope that the Lab/Lib administration will listen to the views made by residents in the forthcoming consultation. We told them last year that they were making a mistake raising prices in the School Lane car park in Herne, but they went ahead regardless. It's taken a year for them to accept the damage they've caused and take remedial action.
They need to listen more to businesses across the district and ensure they don't damage the competitiveness of Canterbury, Whitstable and Herne Bay any further.
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