High cost of parking putting people off visiting Derbyshire, councillor claims

THE cost of parking in the Derbyshire Dales is putting off visitors, a councillor has claimed.

At a Derbyshire Dales District Council meeting, members approved plans to have their first comprehensive parking review for nearly a decade.

This could include raising parking charges, bringing charges to some free car parks and a potential extra tariff during the Matlock Bath Illuminations. Meanwhile, at Thursday’s meeting, authority leader Cllr Garry Purdy said he would like to see a multistorey car park in the Matlock Bath station car park.

Cllr Purdy said after concerns were raised in Ashbourne, by business owners claiming car parking charges were causing the downturn in trade, he pushed for a full review.

Cllr Sue Bull said: “I think it is time to start having a look at the review, but I just hope within this that we try to facilitate, instead of a one price fits all for every area in our district, we maybe look to be more digitally oriented so that we don’t have a set fee for an hour because after people have paid for that hour and they are off and are enjoying themselves they are then rushing back to get there.”

She said visitors were often peeved at having to pay to park for a five-minute visit.

Cllr Steve Flitter said that he too did not want a one size fits all model. He said: “There are opportunities out there to develop our car parks and increase income but in places where that is possible. There are lots of different issues in the car parks and some need to be security minded as well. Bring people back into the Dales, because a lot – because of car parking charges – just aren’t coming, they are going to other places.

“We have got a problem at Cromford at the moment, up at the cemetery, because people are parking on the street there and blocking people from visiting the cemetery because they have got the county council car park where you have got to pay. We want to bring people back to businesses, where they can still go out and have a coffee without paying extortionate costs.”

The council last had a full car parking review in 2013, with a minor study in 2017. It is bracing itself for financial uncertainty. It made £2.5 million in car parking charges last year, with it heavily relying on these fees and council tax to pay for services.

It is also to consider if the annual free Christmas parking scheme is effective, due to the amount of money which is lost in parking fees. The same will be considered for the current residents’ parking permit scheme. The council is also to explore whether it could bring in different parking charges to “encourage the night time economy”.

It also looks to consider whether 10 regulated and unregulated car parks across the Dales, including Ashbourne, Matlock and Wirksworth become charged or become free. The council says it would also look to “explore opportunities to increase capacity and maximise income in those district council car parks which regularly operate at or near to capacity”.