Kentish Gazette Canterbury & District
Warning on parking permit hikes
Sharp rises in the cost of parking permits in the Canterbury district over the next three years will hit drivers hard, a county councillor has warned.
Ukip’s Nick Bond spoke out after the city council announced plans to increase charges for residents off-road permits by 69% in Canterbury, 250% in Whitstable and 346% in Herne Bay.
The authority is also proposing to raise a business permit in Canterbury by 50% as it seeks to claw in an additional revenue for council coffers as it faces unremitting funding reductions into the next decade.
It says the increases are necessary after a three-year period from 2013 in which there were no increases.
Mr Bond, who represents Herne Bay on Kent County Council, said: “This amounts to a finan- cial assault on the residents of the district.
“Many are dependent on mobility to pick up their shopping. Is this what voters are to expect from their caring council which is putting profit before people?”
In Herne Bay a yearly car park permit will jump from its current cost of £112 to £500 by 2019.
Whitstable will see an increase from £200 to £750 and Canterbury from £560 to £950.
Mr Bond, who sits on the Canterbury Joint Transport Board, says he is particularly concerned about the 346% rise in Herne Bay.
“A lot of elderly people rely on their cars, already spend a lot of money on them and this will simply serve to saddle them with huge extra costs,” he said. “Clearly, the council is out of touch with the community.
“Well, enough is enough. I truly care about the residents and visitors to this district, and I will help fight these dramatic price increases.”
Council leader Simon Cook accepts the increases would be unpopular.
But the Conservative said: “We are not trying to rip people off, but we owe it to everyone who pays for parking that everyone is paying the same amount.
“We think it is fair. However, it is entirely possible that we have overlooked something and if people come to us about it, we can have another look at it.”
Log on to www.canterbury.gov. uk/budgetconsultation to have your say.