The Courier & Advertiser (Angus and Dundee)
Thousands weigh in on parking fees
Thousands of people have given opinions on Angus parking charges. A month- long online consultation on the issue of on and off-street parking has now closed and council chiefs are working through an “informed and passionate” response.
Feedback included more than 1,500 comments or suggestions on whether people should have to pay for parking, and how much.
The No v e m b e r 2 01 8 reintroduction of parking charges in 33 off- street Angus locations met fierce opposition from local communities, including town centre businesses.
It led to a petition which was delivered in a noisy protest at the council HQ.
Opponents repeatedly lobbied council meetings for the charges to be dropped amid claims the move had led to a dramatic downturn in income for some firms and even forced others to shut their doors.
The scheme has also proved a financial disaster for the authority after it cost more than £300,000 to install meters and signs for the off-street charging regime.
Almost a year on from the charges being brought in, the authority had to fork out another five-figure sum to put cash payment meters in place at 14 of the 33 off-street car parks.
The first-year income of £320,000 was less than half the figure predicted in the 2018 budget forecast when councillors agreed to end two decades of free parking.
Covers were put on all Angus meters early in the pandemic and will remain there until at least the end of March.
The council said the pandemic presented a “window of opportunity” to re-examine the issue.
Virtual meetings have also been held with community groups and business interests as part of the consultation.
Communities convener Mark Salmond, who chairs the group, said members would look at the responses and consider them in detail before making any recommendations, while also taking environmental and economic impacts into account.
The Montrose independent, who said responses were informed and passionate, said the intention was to publish a decision on the findings early this year.
Brechin businessman Bruce Rober tson said: “I felt the survey was set up in a way to obtain certain answers, and some choices which you might have wanted to there weren’t available. But there were comment boxes and I did put my comments in those.”