Residents register opposition to off-street parking charges

THOUSANDS of Angus residents have registered their opposition to offstreet charges in the county’s car parks.

After a year of pandemic-related lost income and with an administration pledge the meters will remain covered until May 2022, findings of a community-wide consultation have been revealed.

More than 3,000 people responded to the online survey after the authority used the Covid-19 crisis to press the reset button on the scheme, two years after charges were introduced.

And 70% of respondents said they do not want to see the return of charges.

The return of meters to 33 off-street car parks provoked anger among residents and the business community, leaving the council facing a financial headache after full firstyear income failed to reach even half of the forecast £700,000.

Of the 3,093 responses to the survey, 97% came from residents of Angus.

In the survey section asking residents to rate a range of options for offstreet parking charges, the free option was the clear favourite – top ranked by 2,074 respondents, just over 70% of the total.

There was strong support for two options suggesting a period of free parking – one hour free, followed by £1 for one to four hours and £2 for four hours or longer, and the first two hours free, followed by a £2 charge thereafter.

The council’s ruling coalition has already declared charges will remain suspended for the remainder of the current administration.

Communities committee convener Mark Salmond said the policy decision had been unanimously agreed by the administration group ahead of the council budget-setting at the start of next month.

He said: “Parking charges will not return in the near future, to remove any uncertainty in the minds of Angus businesses and allow them to fully focus on rebuilding their economic security.”

More than 3,000 people responded to other survey.