£2,400,000, £2.4m, two million four hundred thousand … however you write it, it’s not an insignificant number, and yet that’s how much profit is being made each day through parking charges. Note the word profit, not revenue.
And despite that, some motorists are facing increases of up to 230% to park their vehicles from next month. The RAC Foundation are predicting that profits will clear £1bn for the year 2019/20.
That’s before we get to the whole ‘parking at work’ issue, and heaven help you if you happen to drive a diesel that’s a few years old. ‘Persecuted’ comes to mind, as does ‘cash cow’ and ‘stealth tax’.
Record profit, part II
Back in November 2018, we wrote an article about councils making record profits from parking, fines and charges for motorists daring to enter a city centre, we also noted that one in ten shops were empty, footfall in city centres fell by around 1.6% and out of town shopping was on the increase by a similar amount.
With that said, there was an element of at least a vague attempt by councils to assuage the concerns of the pro-motoring groups by keeping evening & Sunday rates lower; they couldn’t claim congestion was a problem, nor was there a need to limit church-goers from entering the city en masse. But come April, all pretence of ‘fairness’ ends.
Across the country, a number of councils are already planning on millions of pounds worth of extra revenue generation for the coming year and beyond, Edmund King, president of the AA says: “Some councils are already budgeting to make millions of pounds more from motorists, on top of the millions they already get, by increasing parking charges, extending restricted parking zones, enforcing new bus lanes and looking for new opportunities to catch drivers”.
Councillors are insisting that higher fees are necessary because of major budget cuts from central government, as well as “the need to tackle congestion”. Perhaps that’s the definitive proof that the motorist is seen as the answer to any budgetary shortfalls.
Transportation spending
Analysis from a money comparison site has shown that revenues from parking charges have increased by around £170m in the last five years, currently sitting around £867m per year, and yet the same analysis tells us that councils are spending approximately £400m less on road improvements than they were five years ago.
So where is that money going?
Some councils are on the verge of bankruptcy; in the early part of 2018, Northamptonshire County Council effectively went bankrupt, and a survey by the Local Government Information Unit thinktank found that typically, 8 out of 10 councils were gravely concerned by their finances.
On a completely unrelated note, Northampton council are trebling evening car parking charges, but it isn’t all bad news, Councillor Martin Tett, transport spokesman for the Local Government Association says that councils are on the side of the motorist and shoppers.
Residential parking
Perhaps the most significant blow to motorists is an upsurge in paying for their right to park at home, and some councils are looking to maximise what they feel is acceptable; Hampshire, Reading, Cambridge, Brighton and Exeter are all looking to raise residential parking prices, with Hampshire being the most … optimistic … with up to a 230% increase.
Residents of Camden should feel grateful that they’re only looking at a 70% increase in permit fees, and that in itself tells you that something is seriously wrong. When motorists are feeling relieved that a 70% increase in what amounts to an absurd stealth tax is the better option, you have to wonder just what happens next?
Indeed, residents in Romsey paying £50 per year to park at home doesn’t sound like the ending of the world, but an increase from £15 is significant, and once residents get used to £50, will that rise again by the same percentage? £50 becomes closer to £170.
The need for a car has never been greater; high parking costs have pushed traffic away from city centres, city stores raise their prices in a bid to survive lower footfall, shoppers can’t afford to spend more than necessary on their weekly shopping so drive out of town to their nearest supermarket where prices are cheaper. The statistics bear that out; there is no need to manipulate facts to give a pro-car viewpoint.
Yes, there are a number of people who agree that cars should be made to pay for air pollution, for damaging their environment, for bringing pestilence to the world, but a world without motorised personal transportation or the ability to deliver goods to the far corners of East Sussex or the wilds of the Highlands doesn’t make sense either. All we need is a balance.
Do you think this is just another shot at the motorist? Another stealth tax dressed up in green legislation? Or is it genuinely a good thing? Let us know in the comments.
Its just local council’s trying to cover up their total incompetence at managing their budgets, They already charge businesses extortionate business rates and then want the shoppers to come and pay the authorities too. Local councils keep raising rates and don’t provide improved services. Just another tax on the public that they have no option but to pay.
not just councils.
we have 600 MP’s, all incompetent.
I would have to agree: Brexit, amongst other things has demonstrated just how insipid, characterless, our current MPs are as a whole. There are just NO personalities. I hated Tony Blair, and Brown, but we all knew they were there.
But it’s people like you who vote them in (or can’t be bothered to vote them out in some cases).
Dodgy Dave might have a point about those people who choose not to vote who perhaps get the councillors and MPs they deserve, but those who do vote get little choice about the outcome of the elections in their area. With the national Party system operating, the only viable candidates, especially for Parliament, are the mainstream candidates. Voting for the others is nothing more than a protest vote. So we vote for one of those people who is chosen by the big political parties. This is less so for local councils but the majority of constituencies have too large a majority to overturn easily and changing the politics of the local council often does not happen for many years. The problem is not that people don’t vote for good candidates but that there are so few good candidates coming forward with an honest desire to serve the people who voted them in. When they get into government those representatives do not often vote the way the majority of their constituency would like them to. Instead they vote the way the Party tells them too. We call it democracy and its probably better than a dictatorship but its not real democracy.
Largely speaking the people are almost powerless which may explain the reason why many people don’t bother to vote. Given the current bunch of self-serving incompetents in Parliament I see little hope of an improvement in the future.
“we have 600 MP’s, all incompetent” They are not that good!.
Got that wrong mate. The government sets business rates. The council is just the tax colkector.
In Rochdale we have 60 councillors who between them claimed over £800,000 in “expenses and Special Responsibility” payments… Seems the only part of the budget not subject to cuts is the one that the councillors get their money from.
Cannock chase district council pays almost £400,000 in “expenses and Special Responsibility” , payments some councillors claim over £15,000 “Experiences”. Anything over £2,000 should be taxed at 50%
Are you prepared to pay 50% on anything you get paid over £2,000?
Probably Gwen isnt doing a “voluntary” job!!
Local councils have needed to make tough decisions to cut important services like family centres, nurseries, libraries, in order to pay for social care for an increasing elderly population, among other essential services, like public health and education. The tough decisions have consequences, and it is the Government deciding to cut local authority funding that is the real culprit. Did they have to give tax cuts to the rich? No, it was a choice. The poorest, who may not afford to run a car at all, bear the brunt of the Government’s choices. Why food banks? Why disabled people unable to leave their homes due to cuts in Personal Independence Payments? These were choices made by MPs on our behalf.
Well most local councils are rubbish at running a budget. Our Preston council are so thick that instead of lowering rent and rates on a building to keep an income they have flogged the property off for peanuts ( they say best they could get) . Well done, so what you gonna sell next year to balance the books? So short sighted its unreal. This is what a lot of council have been doing, selling the family gold to a mate for a knock down price, then removing our services and asking us to pay 3.99% council tax increase! They take the urine.
Of course it’s a stealth tax the motorist has always been a cash cow look at the road tax what percentage is actually spent on roads and again fuel tax money money money that’s all the councils and government want we ought to be more like the French and stick up for ourselves against the bureaucrats
Too many vehicles on our congested polluted roads ! But drivers will not give up driving everywhere the want to go .They have to be gently persuaded and increasing parking charges is one way that some councils are trying .Cars have been the priority for many for too long
Try driving from oxfodshire to the lake district for work. It’s not a fun walk.
Better, cheaper trains would be great!
In manchester, any trains not crammed to the doors and massively expensive with large fare increases would be great..!!!
..except my local Rail station car park is 8.50 per day. It just went up 50p per day – that’s an increase of 5,5 percent, way over inflation – CPI or otherwise. and all they do is provide the concrete and a meter to pay for it,. so on top of ruinous season tickets (mine is £5100 we now have over a thousand a year parking charges.
trains….
how about removing all the seats in some carriages so standing room only. Just think how many more passengers you could get on and maybe it could be 10% cheaper
Well said. Encouraging more bike/bus/train journeys will also help.Prioritise motor transport only for those who really need it (emergency services, mobility needs etc)
Jo, I used to start work at 6am. If I did not use a car it would mean, Bus to station 5 miles, 2 train journeys, 1st train 6.10am, bus to work 2miles all taking at least 2 hrs and then the same return 12hrs later. One tiny problem was that the first bus did not leave until 7.30am. the train 6.10am. My work was 16miles from where I lived with some very steep hills to negotiate if on a bicycle . So you can understand that I find your comment a little amusing if not off the planet.
As a nurse i have done my share of early starts and night duty, so i agree with you that shift workers should have priority parking at work if they need it. If you’re driving at 6am or 9pm or whatever,, you’re not contributing to rush hour congestion, either.
Why do you need priority parking if you arrive before anyone else?
I’m not getting at you, Jo, but I don’t follow your logic. Surely the car park is empty when you arrive?
I mean that the work car park should have a sliding scale of charges, so the low-paid health care assistant who works earlies, lates and nights pays little or nothing; the better-paid ward manager on similar shifts pays a bit more, and the senior manager on a fat salary who works 9-5 pays the most.
Agree with that, Jo.
Everyone working there should get a certain amount of pre-paid vouchers, but like everything else, local councils are short of money — the government’s so-called austerity programme — and those miserable soandsos are picking on the weakest.
Thanks for your clarification, Jo.
Ted
My commuter trains are already full to bursting. They cannot squeeze any more services onto the tracks as the rail lines are already full. So, Jo, how can they possibly encourage more of us to commute by train? You’re in cloud cuckoo land 😁.
Works for me but not the high street that’s 6 miles away with no viable bus service. All the council has persuaded me to do is stay away. I could drive in once and buy several things (12 mile round trip) or order on line so there are multiple van journeys far in excess of 12 miles. Unintended consequence, eh??!! People need to think a bit harder when it comes to anti-car polices
One local council did have a good idea. North Camp, Aldershot, restricted parking to around 30 minutes to 1 hour, which is enough for this small town. And they kept the parking fee to 20p or so. The parking problem that they were tackling was that (previously) all of the free parking spaces had been taken by the shop workers, so there was nowhere for their customers to park. The place was a ghost town, but now it’s booming.
If more councils used their brains we motorists would restore our high streets.
As for the shop workers getting to/from work. Well, at least they still have jobs to get to. Without the new parking rules, they’d all be on Universal Credit.
What a stupid comment to think councils are “Gently Persuading” the motorist to give up their cars. Our local bus service has been greatly reduced due to the council not helping to pay for it. So how would you solve the problem of getting the motorist to leave their car at home as there is no alternative
Local Councils will do anything to avoid having to make economies whilst continuing to live lavish lifestyles (Witness the millions spent on foreign travel -just Google “council spending on foreign travel” to see some astounding profligacy with our money) and “presentation” ceremonies.The latter have cost the taxpayer £6.5 million since 2015.)
They are oblivious to the plight of taxpayers and look upon them as a cash cow. Not content with hiking Council Tax by a whopping 174% since 1997 (let’s forget the accountancy jargon ” in real terms”-the amount actually paid by hapless taxpayers has risen by that amount unlike incomes which have stagnated)
they now want to screw yet more money out of us, mainly to bolster their pension funds if the truth be known.
As for the charges being increased for “green” reasons-yeah-right!!
That’s a very generalistic comment. Not all local authorities spend on foreign travel (unless you call into a neighbouring County as foreign!) My own is facing a £2m gap in funding in 2 years time for just standing still and we HAVE made economies.
What about the fact that local authorities have made c 800,00 people redundant over the last 10 years yet central government has increased by 100,000. How many has government taken on to ‘manage’ BREXIT?
The National Audit Office has stated they are virtually at financial breaking point after making these cuts, yet central government still heaps more services upon them without the funding to do it – it’s now ‘what services would you like us to cut’.
Put blame where its due
Sandra, Interesting to know how high are your CEO’s, as well as management salaries are, as you make no mention of this plus what percentage Pension payments are made by your council.
As for the 800,000 local authority workers you claim to have been made redundant in 10 years, how many of these jobs have now been “contracted out” to outside firms who normally end up being paid far more than those they replaced. Once upon a time, local road repairs were done by council workers and a good job was done, but now these works are contracted out and the repairs are of a far lower standard and quality control is almost non-existent. So before you start blaming everyone else, take a long hard look at how your council is run
My CEO earns just over £100k pa. We have 1 Director who earns under £80k. I don’t know pension payments but can find out.
I don’t claim – these details are freely available. As to how many contracted out you would need to find out from the respective County or Unitary Authorities.
I’d like to point out I am not blaming everyone else as YOU claim (please indicate where I am), I am just corrective misinformation. My Council is considered the best in my County, but i agree this is far from the case with all.
Defined contribution (DC) pension schemes at private sector organisations had 7.7 million active members in 2017, compared with 6.4 million active members in 2016 and 1 million active members in 2012, according to research by the Office for National Statistics (ONS).
Its Occupational pension schemes survey: UK, 2017 also found that, within private sector DC schemes, the average total contribution rate was 3.4% in 2017, falling from 4.2% in 2016. This consisted of a 1.2% contribution from pension members and a 2.1% contribution from employers.
I have to pay 6.8% of my salary into my pension scheme – three times as much as my private sector counterparts. I am not a high ranking or highly paid officer either
If its all to much for you then resign… this constant bleat from politicians of all side of “it wasnt me” its their fault makes me sick.
Local authorities have mad 800,000 redundant, but we still have the same if not more councillors with ever increasing expenses payments…. we dont need so many councillors.
I’d distinguish between the Councillors and the Staff. The Staff rarely, if ever get to go on junkets. That’s the preserve of politicians. The same politicians that set and approve the councils charges for things like Parking Fees. Its the political system that’s broken.
Then vote them out and mend it.
So vote them out.
Sadly when you look at the ballot paper its always the same old faces, parties. We even have one councilor that tried several different parties before he could find one he could get elected with
Why don’t councils get it. Prices up less people shopping. How about putting prices down, more people shopping. It’s not rocket science
Well it’s time to hold councils responsible for the state the roads are in no repair to potholes no pay parking fees
ALL councils should be held liable for their incompetence in running their boroughs so inefficiently. Asking for more money and extorting money in many nefarious ways? Criminal!
And you do that through the ballot box.
James, that is a requirement for the job, if you’re not a total muppet you don’t get a job higher than the bin man. The incompetence here in Preston is the same as else were, instead of reducing rents to keep an income for life, thick as pig s#it council sell the buildings off, more likely than not way below market value!!!! So smart arse council members, what do you do next year when you’re skint? Put parking an council tax up again? We only have so much money you know, bit of a fixed budget here.
If you want to store your possessions on the public highway, it makes sense that you should pay for the privilege. For comparison, a skip licence typically costs £30 for 1-2 weeks (so £780 to 1560 per year); similarly, commercial storage facilities would cost at least £1000/year for a container the size of a small car. £50 or even £500 for an annual parking permit is a bargain!
Next, cities that have vigorously promoted walking, cycling and efficient public transport generally find that takings in city centre and neighbourhood shops, cafes etc actually go up. We need to make driving much less convenient (except for those with mobility issues, of course) and sustainable transport the cheap, enjoyable and easy option.
Where do you think that the cheap sustainable transport comes from. I live in a rural part of the country and the majority of sustainable transport receives local authority subsidies which obviously is not sustainable! Have a look at this transport and you will find only 1 or 2 people on board and then ask why? Services are unreliable, routes have been cut however they will still put a diesel powered, fume spewing bus on a 20 mile route to pick 2 people up who then have to arrange a lift to get back from their destination as there isn’t a return service at the time required. Only way here is personal transport and a pedal cycle just won’t suffice as you will end up under the wheels of a vehicle on our country lanes???
30 minute drive to work, no bus service, 1/1/2 to 2 hours by train (still have 5 mile drive to the station) or 2 hours plus by bike (4 hours per day) and no shower facilities. What was that? “We need to make driving much less convenient”. Typical spouting of a city-dweller…
Yes, I live in a city. Most people do, and that is where sustainable transport efforts need to happen. I’m not suggesting that people who live in an isolated rural area (which I have done myself in the past) should not use their cars.
I already pay to “store my valuables” as you put it… and I have yet to see anyone get to work in a skip… unless you look at the state of the buses around Manchester which are in worse conditions than many skips.
Cities are not trying to promote walking and cycling, the idiot politicians in charge are. The ordinary working people have come up with many a suggestion to alleviate congestion around Manchester but..our head in the sand politicians can only see their side and want to continue to “save the world” at everyone else expense.
And for your information, it came out on Radio 5 some months ago, that outside of London since 2010 bus passenger miles had fallen by over 50%… can you think why that might have been? Expensive? filthy? unreliable? just a few of the answers I get when I pose that question to the travelling public.
Then vote them out.
SOME OF US ARE SO DIABLED TAKING YOUR SUGGESTIONS ARE NOT AN OPTION HOPE YO HAVE ALONG AND DISABILTY FREE LIFE.
Harry, I’m not suggesting that people with disabilities should give up their cars. My husband had a blue badge from the age of 34 before dying of cancer; my dad at 89 would be housebound without a car (no longer driving himself, he’s not Prince Philip!) so I do understand how important it is. I myself used my car a lot more when my kids were younger. All I’m suggesting is that people who can use other modes of transport for some journeys – like me, as a relatively healthy city dweller – do so when they can, and leave the roads and the parking spaces clearer for people like you and your wife who really need them.
Jo, i do not believe that your statement is borne out in the real world, go up and down the country and you will see the high streets in decline compared to a decade ago.
The pollution of the environment comes from many sources not just the domestic car user.
Buy a motorcycle/scooter always free to park. My local station car park is £100 a month to park but motorcycles free. No brainer really. Why do people pay that much to park, seems crazy to me
good idea – or a bike or e-bike. Typing this having just cycled to the rail station!
No wonder cyclists get a bad name, “Texting While Cycling”!!!! Oh that offence doe’s not apply to cyclists doe’s it Jo?
I was not texting while cycling and never do. On the other hand I experience a dangerous and illegal ‘close pass’ from a car driver usually several times a day, and invariably see someone using their phone while driving or jumping a red light on most journeys.
Maybe you don’t text but I have seen some cyclists doing just that.
I couldn’t even if I wanted to as I can’t use my phone one-handed and never learned the trick of taking both hands off the bike handlebars. But there’s no specific law about it as when driving a car – though you could in theory be charged with careless cycling. Meanwhile, drivers distracted by their phones kill one person every 10 days on UK roads and seriously injure hundreds every year. I have yet to hear any reports of the carnage caused by people texting while cycling.
Not everyone is physically able to ride a bike and many disabled have lost their mobility payments and cannot get a parking permit for being disabled. Also you cannot carry much on a bike.
Add the initial purchase cost & the clothing needed, as well as UK weather, & its not a viable option
Having previously ridden a motorcycle (gave it up due to the inherent dangers of doing so) I find it’s not worth the risk to save a few quid on parking – also no brainer.
IDIOTIC ADVICE FOR THOSE OF US WHO ARE OR HAVE DISABLED PARTNERS WHO CANNOT RIDE SUCH VEHICLES OR EVEN ARE UNABLE TO USE PUBLIC TRANSPORT IN ANY FORM
Harry, no-one is suggesting that people with disabilities should give up their cars.
Try telling that to Mayor Khan he thinks everyone should give up their cars
Council Parking
I never go into town now I would either go to an out of town store where the prices are cheaper and you can park for nothing free the motorist is being robbed left right and centre by council’s and the police who treat us as cash cows
It is just an easy way of getting easy revenue
someone has to pay for their salary increase and incompetnce
High St shops closing all the time but cites keep making it more and more expensive to get in and park.Also where I live in the working week the side streets are full of cars left all day as the people leave them and get the bus the rest of the way into the city because it’s cheaper
I think car parking charges are a joke. I went for a hospital appointment for a blood test. I was sat there for over 2 hours and if I had driven and parked it would have cost me £4.50. That is disgusting. So now where possible I take the bus because I have a bus pass and shop at Morrisons and is free to park so I shop there …… Its just a racket…… The roads in Buckinghamshire are disgusting.. so where is the money going…..
Get your blood test done at the doctors the nurse usually does it
Our surgery has stopped doing it, no nurse anymore. Unfortunately not all surgeries give that option.
If you have a ‘free’ bus pass, this is paid for by your local authority – this is another thing that has to be paid from parking charges.
Sandra, how long before your entitled to a free bus pass, maybe many years hopefully, but sooner or later!!!! The person who mentioned this is most probably a Pensioner so the yearly increase to the pension will at least pay for one parking fee a week so offset your complaint about the cost of bus passes
Zoggie, I am merely stating a fact, whereas you seem to be insinuating that where a person adds to the discussion by providing actual facts it is a complaint. NOTHING is Free in this world, it costs and has to be covered somewhere.
No Sandra,
It does NOT have to be paid for by parking charges!
According to your argument, EVERYTHING would have to be paid for by the motorist paying your excessive parking charges.
Parking fees are to pay for the overheads of providing parking facilities, so we can access shops, libraries, hospitals, or even the council office.
Council Tax is there to pay for things like free bus passes!
Lynne: It is not disgusting that you would have been charged £4.50 for parking whilst at the hospital for an appointment of the type you specify. The reality is that if parking was made cheaper it merely encourages yet more people to drive to the hospital and then there are fewer parking places left or perhaps none at all. To travel by bus, especially with a free bus pass and for a routine test, should not be thought of as a great hardship or that there is anything disgusting about it. To provide more parking places so as to accommodate more cars in hospital grounds means less funding would be available for hospital buildings and equipment.
I respectfully suggest you should be grateful for your free bus pass and also the medical services you presumably receive for free from the NHS.
It isn’t like this everywhere. A big multi storey has just gone up at Milton Keynes main shopping centre. A reasonable 50p an hour, I think. Smart thinking on the part of the owners and the council. That shopping centre is MK’s “high street” and is always buzzing with shoppers. It must not die. I imagine they’ve learned lessons from watching other idiot councils choke off their town centres. MK also has a road network that lets you get from A to B at 60-70 mph and is full of free parking at places you’d want to be like parks etc. It’s also one of the fastest growing cities in the UK. It’s not rocket science. (To be fair, it’s easier to achieve all that when you can design a city from a clean sheet of paper, but that doesn’t change the result. )
Not a criticism of you Chris, but I’ve had reason to visit MK twice now in the last couple of weeks. Took my dog for a walk in one of the parks, absolutely no litter bins or dog waste bins, I clean up after my pet, especially when visiting other peoples neighbourhoods, but nowhere to dispose of pet litter so took it away with me. I couldn’t help notice the amount of litter in the streets too. Maybe MK council could invest in a few litter bins!
How does all this extra revenue actually clear the pollution in the the air anyway ?
Only last week I emailed our new potential independent to say that I will no longer park in town and will only use free or refunded car parks . As a recent pensioner on less than half the national average income and needing medical help at times it has now got worse for all as the new minimum charge is £2.20 at our local hospital . An appointment that is only 30 minutes costs the same as 2 hours ! Why can’t charges be calculated half hour ? A lot of motorists already pay too much in standing charges like insurance and road fund licence even if they do ridiculously low mileage ,where is the fairness in our society?
I’ve been banging on about this for years, this parking lottery when parking in hospitals is an absolute joke, trying to guess how long to put on the meter , always overpaying to ensure that you don’t fall foul of some overzealous nazi traffic warden if you’re a couple of minutes late. Pay on exit is fairer and wouldn’t mean ripping off the patients or visiting family members.
YOUR LOCAL HOSPITAL CAR P[ARK CHARGES ARE CHEAP COMPARED TO MY LOCAL HOSPITAL.
MY WIFE HAS A BLUE BADGE BUT WITH ONLY 3OR4 SPACES I CAN ACCESS DUE TO ALOW ROOF TO THE DISABLED CAR PARK WITH A LARGE VEHICLE I CANNOT USE IT, YET THE UPPER FLOORS ARE ABLE TO ACCOMMODATE MY VEHICLE BUT I HAVE TO PAY THROUGH THE NOSE. ALSO VISITS TO THE HOSPITAL ARE FREQUENT SO THE COSTS HIT US HARD AS WE ARE BOTH PENSIONERS.
Reduce the number of councillors from 3 to 1 per ward.
Vote people onto your council who will do it.
Once more it is ” Milk the Motorist ” .
Don’t forget the majority of Councillors are in it for themselves and haven’t a clue how to save money. So the wastage continues on a huge scale and so somebody has to pay!
So vote against them and for someone (yourself?) who will do something about it.
I think that all Councillors and council officials should be made to use the bus services and bicycles they keep telling motorists to use. Then they might understand why people use cars!
You are assuming that there are bus services available all over – not so in rural areas. For example I could get to work on one day a week for a couple of hours only if I caught a bus from my village to the town for my last job. Now even that has gone. As 11.5 miles mostly along a busy trunk road, the cycling option was not a safe or viable option.
I just had my council tax notification & the overall increase is 4.9% which as usual is higher than RPI & certainly higher than CPI which anyway does not include council tax increases. Every year councils raise council tax by more than inflation but apparently that is never enough & so they seek other ‘stealth’ options to increase their income. The article is well written & makes the logical point that the more it costs to park & shop in town, the less likely you are to do so. Poole here in Dorset now has numerous charity shops that make use of retail space which would otherwise stand empty. It must also be said that technology is increasingly being used by private companies to generate income from parking fines. So it isn’t just councils who are trying to make money from us. It is hard to avoid the conclusion that they are all in fact out to get us.
I’d like to thank my Council for raising my Council Tax by twice the amount of my Pension Increase. take into account all the other increases one gets then each year my standard of living falls by at least 10%. If the minimum wage is around £14500pa how come my pension is only £9500pa. well at least I don’t pay tax 🙂
The motorist has always been a milch cow . All governments have insisted that car revenues should NOT be hypothecated which means they just see the motorist as a great source of income with little need to provide decent roads and infrastructure. The roads in very rural France are far better than here in Tunbridge Wells.
Nobody cares, the damage caused by myriad potholes is paid for by us in repair bills and thus does not impinge on Council Tax spending. Short term roadside parking is being outlawed (to the detriment of the remaining local small shops) in order to force drivers to use exorbitant multi – storey parking .
Perhaps the many millions of motorists should be as vociferous as the relatively tiny, non financially contributing, anti car lobbies!
I for one would sooner drive an extra five miles to shop than pay car hating councils anything and they wonder why motorists stop going to in town shops
Thanks for your contribution to the environment.
John, if you drive an extra 10 mile round trip to avoid parking charges, it’s costing you at least £2.00 in petrol and – assuming a steady 30mph journey- 20 minutes of your time, which is worth at least 3 quid at ‘minimum wage ‘ rates. So unless the parking costs more than a fiver you’re losing out anyway.
Drivers in all boroughs are seen as the the golden goose forever laying golden eggs they are just waiting to spend.
They know drivers wont give up their cars no matter how much they raise the rates and charges.
We all just accept if we want to drive we have to pay so they have you on the rack and just keep turning the crank
They are probably saying to themselves their is nothing we can do and they are right what can we do really no matter how much noise we make it wont change anything
You have to actually do something about it. Don’t post on here. Get out there and vote them out.
I do vote but it makes no difference. I still get the same local council and the same party MP. I won’t stop voting but its rather a forlorn hope to expect any change and get a good leader who actually gives a damn about the people.
I agree that this is a ridiculous increase in parking fees with retail shops already struggling to compete with online shopping. I, as a pensioner, cannot afford to keep finding these increases so it will have to more online for me but I hate not being able to support the shops where I live in Hampshire. The poor motorist is taking a massive hit with increases in car tax, fuel and parking charges!! So so unfair.
Thoroughly sickened by the way we are being ripped off. Camera van on the A38 at Plympton on Wednesday at 0820 just to catch those poor buggers trying to get to work on time! A safety concern about speeding pull the other one? Just revenue raising.
I am waiting for this greedy government and council to start charging me to park in my disabled bay
I wonder what happend to the all road tax going to the upkeep of the roads, i believe this was a goverment promise a couple of years ago.
Surely you don’t expect a politician to honour their promises? (No I didn’t think so…)
One thing I hate: having to pay for town centre parking in MY OWN town. So: sod the town centre, I shop 3 miles down the road where I can park for free. It is the council that the shop owners can moan at, not me. I WOULD rather park in my own town, but simply am not prepared to do so when it costs me 4 quid a throw . ( Cheaper than some other towns I agree, but….!). If I can, I use the bus pass for shopping, but on principle, still shop out of town. That is how strongly I feel about it.
The government has comitted to fund the EU to the tune of billions every year, it has to get the money from somewhere.
Perhaps the government could pay some of it from the MP’s solid platinum pension fund and give something back to the people who put them there. After all its just about the only good pensions scheme still going.
Here in Cornwall County Council have given themselves a wonderful pay rise, put up Council tax, Devon and Cornwall Police, wasted thousands of pounds trying to amalgamate with Dorset police, who is going to BE SACKED for this blunder. NOT resigning with a full Pension , put back on the beat would be great, on the fat cats salary, would put EXTRA POLICE ON THE STREETS.
I’ve got lots of good ideas, BUT NO ONE would listen, Just look at our Parliament and Councils.
These parasites are just legalised thieves.
Council policy is biased against the motorists. My council charges for disabled drivers to park, Hampshire which starts just along the coast is free. Bournemouth want to attract visitors , but have closed car parks to build flats on the ground. More rates of course. But where do the tourists park?
You’re absolutely right. The motorists are just a cash cow for this government and local councils. The money they get from road tax, but only a fraction is spent on the roads. Tax on fuel and parking charges, no wonder the hi.street is going to pot. Now they’ve changed the road tax. Soon we will have to wear a helmet with a breath meter on it. There never was a truer saying, the rich get richer and the poor get poorer.
I’ve paid for my driveway, to be paved and tarmacked, so why shouldn’t households with cars parked on the street pay?, the roads are maintained and cleaned by the local authority, how many car parkers sweep the street,None, so they can pay, if I use a car park, I pay.
I think you miss the point. Its not the payment itself that many people object to. Its the extortionate charges that councils demand and the way they impose fines illegally all so that they can continue to cover their wasteful spending of our money. If the parking charges were more reasonable then people might not be so upset but with the current profit margins being extorted from the motorist councils only see car owners as an easy way to make money – lots of it. Where I live you can pay £4 to £10 per HOUR just to park depending on the time of day and which car park. The council claims that it will encourage park and ride. Yet for me to use park and ride I have to drive through the town then out of it to get to the bus park and then pay for the bus to get me back into town. I could try the bus but that does not stop close to my house and they don’t go to the shops I want to frequent, nor do they allow large parcels on buses as they say there is no room. So after all that I would spend 4 time longer doing the trip, have to pay delivery charges and pay several pounds for the bus fare. As you can guess. I don’t bother with this ridiculous system. I shop out of town or shop online and get free delivery. So as with most towns there are very many derelict shops and still the council wants to increase both bus fares and car parking charges.
Enough is enough. Lets all use public transport for a week instead of our cars,give them what they want. And if that doesn’t work,if everyone stopped paying the mortgage for three months what can they do? Make the whole country homeless? No money for banks, no stock market trading.They wont listen until we take drastic action, but we have to do it together,in great numbers. Theyve smashed our society, you don’t know all your neighbours like years ago. We have social media to organise a mass movement, let’s use it to our advantage for once and put the spine back in Britain.
I like your thinking but unfortunately only a few would act as most will bottle out being afraid to do anything with fear of recrimination and those with families will be in the majority and TBH I couldn’t blame them as they have to ensure the safety of their children.
Re “Social Media” The governments of the world have access to everything ppl say across all formats be it “Facebook” “Twitter” or anything else.
The advent of social media just gave them a free window into what the masses get up to and say and think which is why I never use such things neither do I use such apps or programs that act as your virtual assistant because that just gives the controllers all the information about you and your daily life.
So just be aware that social media may seem like a good thing yet it just gives the governments all the information about you they would not usually be able to get themselves.
Even Google maps your every move. There is a vid on YouTube” that analyzed the data that was being sent from your devices to their data centers and it can even tell when you enter a shop or even get out of a car so they know your every move every minute of the day even if you turn off all your networks but as soon as you turn wifi or bluetooth back on bang all your movements get sent to google and I’m sure you can imagine what they do with all that data.
We live in a world which is slowly destroying ourselves with less physical interaction and big brother keeping tabs on us every second of every day. There are now scratch on data “tattoos” which allow ppl to control their devices and you can bet that this just another way of keeping tabs on us.
These vids are readily available on YouTube and what is happening to us as a society scares me.
Just means less people travelling to the town centre shops, more parking on roads meant for travelling not parking.
Who do you vote for? Cat sh!t£ or dog sh!t£,they’re both different but both sh!t£. Been screwing this country up between them for years. Let’s form and vote for a new common sense party.
One do a test case in courts about parking charges and parking outside one house
Some should at local government to court about parking charges and parking outside one house,
Someone needs to local government to court about parking charges and parking charges outside one house
It’s definitely another shot at motorists – who should boycott those towns which charge exorbitant parking fees 😡
No wonder are high streets are struggling , just shop online save on parking fees petrol and also cuts pollution should suit the green lobby and government alike.
In my local town centre you can park free for up to two hours at Waitrose and in the council car parks. Hopefully this has had a positive effect on footfall in the local High Street.
Councils are now being forced to make up shortfalls in their budgets owing to government cuts in their support grant, because some can’t even carry out basic functions any more. Increasing parking is just one way of doing this, and maybe, at the same time , encourage people to take up public transport where possible to reduce congestion and pollution in town centres; motorists are still not paying for the damage to the environment that they do! Sadly bus use is actually reducing in most places, and car use increasing. In Nottingham where I live, the trams are bucking this trend – maybe that’s part of the answer….. Clearly, car parking, especially in some smaller towns, is maybe not quite high enough!
To charge people to park at work, or outside their own homes is an easy way of getting money in by councils, most of whom couldn’t be trusted to run a whelk-stall. The poor old motorist is demonised for poisoning the planet, & we Brits are made to fork out for our sin, but not much happens in, say, India, where some cities have air that’s a smoggy soup. One shining example, though, is Witney, where they encourage people to come in & park free. Its had the effect of supercharging the town’s economy, with people happy to go in & shop. Contrast with Oxford, where the army of wardens persecute drivers, & there’s nowhere much to park in any case. I don’t go there unless I absolutely have to.
Yes I agree, in my area (west midlands) there are plans for more average speed cameras on the grounds of “safety” but can you imagine driving some distance across the west midlands and not going above the speed limit once. Parking charges, yes, what is the quickest way to send people away from towns than having to pay a small fortune to park, I plead guilty to a lot of shopping on line for that reason. Council’s are just using the motorist to try and make up for their self induced shortage of money.