Fury as car park permit up by nearly £2.5k a year
BATH locals have reacted with anger after the cost of an anyday parking permit rocketed from £135 a month to £338 overnight.
Some ticket holders were not told of the increase and only found out when £200 more than usual was taken from their bank accounts.
Bath and North East Somerset Council is refunding the difference to people who had this money taken before the changes were announced but they will still be expected to pay the increased charges in the future.
It will now cost £4,056 a year for the season ticket, which allows drivers to park at Charlotte Street car park every day of the week. The previous annual cost was £1,633.
Councillors have said there has not been a significant increase for some time but families and business owners have reacted with anger to the sudden jump in cost.
Adam Leon lives in central Bath and relies on his season ticket to park his family car. He said: “The problem is, I don’t have any choice as I live in Bath and I have a family. I can’t ask my 11-year-old child to ride her bike every day up Lansdown hill.”
He added: “I would challenge any council member to raise a family in Bath without a car.”
Because Mr Leon’s house was converted after 2006, council rules mean he is not entitled to a resident’s parking permit.
He said: “I have no choice but to use the Charlotte Street car park. When I bought this property, I knew that.”
But he added: “I never expected they would put the price up by [150%] in one fell swoop.”
He now worries that the overnight increase to £338 is so significant that it could impact the value of his house.
The parking charges are also affecting businesses in Bath. Applications for business parking permits are currently closed, meaning that some local business owners also depend on parking at Charlotte Street.
Part-owner of Quiet Street Antiques Mike Barlow said that his business, which has stood on the central Bath street for 42 years, was struggling with rising energy costs and business rates.
He commutes from near Bitton in an electric car and has a season ticket for Charlotte Street. He said: “That’s another two and a half thousand we’ve got to find.”
He added that the antique shop had recently spent money on a new delivery van in order to comply with the Clean Air Zone.
Mr Barlow and his business partner are now considering reducing their opening hours to five days a week. He said: “There’s just empty shops everywhere, so the net income to the council – at the end of putting all of these people out of business – will be negative.”
Mr Leon also has a business in Bath, as a partner involved in running Mary Shelley’s House of Frankenstein. He believes the council wants to keep parking available for visitors to the city.
But he said: “I live in Bath. I raise a family in Bath. I have a business in Bath on Gay Street. I think I am contributing way more to the city than the visitors.”
Sue Craig, who Mr Leon contacted as his local councillor, escalated his case and said that it had not been designed to affect people in his situation.
Keynsham councillor Lisa O’Brien objected to the traffic regulation order which brought in the increased charges. It also saw season tickets for Keynsham long stay car park almost double from £19.80 to £39. She said: “You can’t escape the fact that this council is waging war on motorists.”
Bath and North East Somerset Council was approached for comment.