‘Sneaky’ council blasted over car park fees u-turn
National Holidays is part of the JG Travel Group and is a leading specialist in great-value coach holidays across the UK, Ireland and Europe.
Operated by Just Go! Holidays Ltd trading as National Holidays. Coach package holidays and short breaks are subject to National Holidays terms and conditions and are financially protected by a bond held with Bonded Coach Holidays Group (BCH). Tours offered subject to availability and government
guidelines. Errors and omissions excepted. Prices are per person, based on two people sharing a double/twin room.
AN independent Kirklees councillor has criticised the town hall’s ‘sneaky’ decision to reimpose car parking charges.
Clr Aleks Lukic (Dewsbury East) spoke out after Kirklees revealed on New Year’s Eve that it would start charging again from next Monday.
Kirklees Council has offered free parking to people visiting Huddersfield and Dewsbury as well as other local towns and villages since shops reopened after lockdown in June, and this was then extended until the end of 2020.
The council says it has been more generous than neighbouring authorities but its announcement did not impress Clr Lukic, who said: “The Kirklees Labour administration is stuck in the 1990s trying to charge people for visiting their local town centres.
“How can they first agree that free parking has encouraged more people to shop local, then bring back charges that will further harm town centre businesses during a pandemic?
“Like everywhere else, Dewsbury town centre has been struggling even more than usual this year, and I hate to imagine what it would have been like if we had kept the parking charges in place. Kirklees already has free parking with time limits in several towns like Batley and Cleckheaton, which works very well.
“Dewsbury has dozens of empty shop units and is surrounded by even more free parking at the White Rose Centre and Birstall Retail Park – charging shoppers to park here makes absolutely no sense.
“This was Kirklees Labour’s chance to leave their broken parking policy behind, but their sneaky New Year’s Eve announcement makes it clearer than ever that we need to bring an end to their minority administration.”
Kirklees says visitors to its towns and villages will need to check signs and meters to see whether they need to pay before leaving their car when parking charges return next month.
Clr Peter McBride, Cabinet Member for Regeneration, said: “We always intended to start charging again in the new year, but to give people a chance to do some sales shopping or return unwanted gifts we’re not starting until January 11.
“As we move into the new year we have to think about the wider economic recovery. We know free parking was appreciated by both residents and businesses in our town centre, but now is the right time to start bringing in income so that we can deliver on our ambitions for the whole of Kirklees.’’
Clr Naheed Mather, Cabinet Member for Environment and Highways, said: “We’ve learnt a lot from offering free parking, both positive and negative.
“Parking charges are not all about bringing in extra money, they also allow us to make sure there are enough spaces for everyone who needs them, a successful town centre economy requires a regular turnover of people visiting and spending money.
“At the moment some of our bigger car parks are being used exclusively by people working in town, making it harder for shoppers to find a space.
“Despite bringing back charges we will continue to monitor parking and make decisions about specific locations on a case-by-case basis in line with local need.”