Parking worries

Retail and business bosses today stressed that any plans to increase the cost of parking in the city centre had to be treated with "caution".

In later editions of yesterday's Evening Press, we reported how City of York Council was considering raising short-stay daytime parking charges to £2 an hour at three central car parks - Piccadilly, Castle and Bootham Row.

The current hourly charge ranges from £1.50 to £1.60. The price rise is designed to raise extra revenue for the cash-strapped authority if next year's council tax rise is pegged to five per cent.

Should a consultation exercise reveal a willingness among residents to accept a ten per cent increase in council tax, parking charges would rise to £1.70.

Coun Ann Reid, the council's executive member for planning and transport, yesterday said she would have preferred not to raise any parking charges, but said standard daytime charges for other city centre car parks, such as Esplanade, would be frozen under all circumstances.

Diana Golding, manager of the Coppergate Centre, said: "York is already seen by many as an expensive place for parking and Park&Ride, although very popular and more environmentally acceptable, does not provide the solution for all people wanting to come into the city. The concern is that the car driver will simply look elsewhere and take their trade to out-of-town sites where parking is free and readily available." Len Cruddas, chief executive of York and North Yorkshire Chamber of Commerce, said: "While I understand the extent of the difficulties the council faces against the backdrop of an unfair grant, I do think we should be very cautious about the scale of parking increases.

"There will come a point where they will have an effect. If we charge too much to park, people won't park there or they will go out of town."

Adam Sinclair, president of the York Chamber of Trade, said: "We have had an assurance from the council that, other than in relation to these three short-stay car parks, parking charges will be frozen until 2006. That gives us comfort and we will be focusing on the more flexible longer stay car parks that allow people to stay and shop in the city without rushing back".

Campaign success

THE latest parking charges plan comes only months after the Evening Press fought a successful campaign against high evening parking charges.

In July, Stop The Highway Robbery backed traders and residents who were determined to fight against the imposition of evening and on-street charges.

We reported how traders claimed city centre business was hit and we began a petition which was backed by motorists and business leaders.

Almost 6,500 people put pen to paper to call on City of York Council to scrap the charges.

In September, following two months of campaigning by the Evening Press, business, trade union leaders, charities and societies, council chiefs agreed to slash the evening charges and introduce a late-night Park&Ride service from Askham Bar.

Local residents with a window badge were able to park all night in city centre car parks for £1, with other motorists paying £2.

But while council chiefs then agreed to freeze standard parking charges until 2006, that did not apply to short-stay car parks.

Updated: 10:03 Wednesday, December 22, 2004