Lake users protest about car park price rise plan
DOZENS of objections have been made to plans to hike the cost of car parking at Hollingworth Lake.
Hollingworth Lake Rowing Club, Hollingworth Lake Sailing Club and Link4Life are among the 57 people and organisations who have written to the council to protest against the proposed price rise.
It would see the cost of parking for more than four hours in the three car parks at the beauty spot more than double from £2.20 to £5.
Tickets for up to two hours would rise from 90p to £1, while the cost of parking for two to four hours would leap from £1.20 to £2.
The increases were first put forward last year as part of a review of parking charges across Rochdale.
But the proposals have been met with widespread opposition from residents, members of the public and groups who use the lake.
In a letter to the council Hollingworth Lake Sailing Club wrote: “There are generally 48 Sundays on our racing calendar which means for someone who sails every Sunday, an increase of £112 is proposed if the increases go ahead.
“There is only one other sailing club in Greater Manchester whose members have to pay for parking and their charges are nowhere near this. All other clubs offer free parking.
“This means that people are likely to vote with their feet and go elsewhere.
“Potential new members are put off by parking charges now, so if the increase goes ahead we may not manage to recruit many more new members. This will result in the slow death of the club.”
In a joint letter three members of Hollingworth Lake Rowing Club said: “We believe the new charges are punitive and wrongly discriminate against local people who are involved in sport and volunteering.”
In their objection Link4Life, which runs sports and leisure facilities in Rochdale, said: “The 127 per cent increase to the ‘4 hours and over’ which exceeds the council’s five per cent price increase recommendation, could have a significant impact on the ability of Link4Life to enhance and deliver the future sustainability of the Hollingworth Lake Water Activity Centre and the wider park itself.”
Cabinet members were due to consider the objections at a meeting last night (Tuesday).
A report set to go before cabinet puts forward alternative charges, which would see the increases for parking for up to two hours and between two and four hours remain, but a new charge of £3 introduced for parking between four and six hours introduced, with a £5 charge for parking for more than six hours. ●●The rowing and sailing clubs are among those objecting to plans to raise the cost of car parking at Hollingworth Lake
The reports states: “Should members support the objections made in this report and amend the pricing structure so that the proposed increase in tariffs is not implemented, it is expected that a budget pressure of circa £25k will be created.”