Council’s U-turn after backlash to digital change to parking

»

THE county council has performed a U-turn on plans to force businesses in Gloucester and Cheltenham to validate their parking permits every four hours.

Initially, the council told businesses in both areas that paper parking permits would go digital on November 1 but that traders would have to log in their car every four hours - sparking a mass backlash among traders.

Now Gloucestershire County Council has confirmed parking permits will still go digital but business owners won’t have to keep revalidating their permits throughout the day.

David Norman, cabinet member responsible for parking said: “I want to thank businesses for the feedback they’ve given us on the introduction of digital parking permits.

“I have listened carefully to what they have said – and we will be changing the scheme to make sure there is no time limit on business parking permits.

“The council will be writing to all affected businesses next week to explain the change.”

The letter, sent to business owners across Gloucester and Cheltenham on October 16, said the move was to “relieve pressure on certain areas” after mis-use.

Traders currently pay for a year and then display their permit in their vehicle, but the new system would have meant they have to re-register the vehicle every four hours.

According to the letter, businesses who have paid for a parking permit will not need to pay for another one.