Cabinet member says Northampton Borough Council is not 'profiteering' from proposed car park charge increases

The proposals will see one hour parking at council owned surface car parks increase from 60p to £2, while three hour parking in the multi-storey car parks will increase from £2.40 to £4. The evening fee after 5pm will also go up from £1 to £3.

The price hikes are set to net the council an extra £625,000 per year, but the plans have been met with heavy resistance from residents and businesses.

Although cabinet agreed to recommended the proposals when it met on Wednesday evening (February 20), a 21-day consultation is still legally required to take place, during which time residents and businesses can respond.

Councillor Tim Hadland, the cabinet member responsible for parking, said of the rises: “This is unfortunate but we have done this in a considered way to keep the headline things such as two hours free parking. And you can still park on Saturdays and Sundays for less than the price of a cup of coffee. This is not profiteering, it's adopting a sensible approach for a town of our size."

But Northampton BID chairman Rob Purdie begged cabinet members to allow officers to ‘ work on an alternative plan’.

He said: “We remain a committed partner of the council, but partnership is a two-way process. On this occasion we have to be a critical friend.

“You say in your papers that you want to ensure future parking requirements meet the demand of local business. But you don’t know what they want, because you haven’t asked them. Nobody has been consulted on these proposals, so you aren’t meeting the needs of my business members.

“I have received 20 written comments from them, none of which support these proposals. Footfall continues to decline in the town faster than the national average, and you should not be using car parks as an income stream.”

Neither were opposition councillors supportive of the proposals. Liberal Democrat leader Sally Beardsworth said: "The people I've spoken to about this are asking if you're trying to kill the town off altogether. Our businesses are struggling and we have to support them. "

Labour leader Danielle Stone added: "I appreciate this might make economic sense. But this is going against everything we want. It won't bring in extra footfall, and workers don't get to choose to park in Northampton. It's going to be underpaid, poverty stricken workers who as well as a big council tax hike will also be hit by a huge parking increase."

But Councillor Hadland responded by saying: "There's no change for all day parking, so people who work full time will not pay anything extra."

And cabinet member for finance, Brandon Eldred, pointed out that parking is not a statutory service for the council to provide.

He said: “The parking income doesn't support the maintenance costs of these car parks, which are going up to £700k alone this year. We have to find money to pay for that.

“Some unitary authorities have gone on to sell car parks to NCP. We need to do what we can to keep car parks within the borough."

Council leader Jonathan Nunn added: "This was one of the toughest decisions for us to make. But there is still a consultation to come on this, so this is not the end of the process. But there's a problem to fix, and we're open to suggestions."