To pay or not to pay. That is the question.

Closely followed by one hour free or two, with or without a detailed survey into the possible effects of car parking charges and who should foot the bill – the council tax payer, the town council, the motorist or the businesses.

The list goes on. But what do representatives of the towns affected think?

DISS: The town council wants 30 minutes free parking and a 50 per cent reduction in the proposed charges after that period.

Town clerk Deborah Sarson said the idea of one hour's free parking was originally put to the town council and South Norfolk Council said charges after that would not rise considerably.

"When we actually got the figures through as to what they were proposing, the town council was less than pleased," she said.

"As a market town that is losing its important traders, the last thing we want to do is deter shoppers."

The town council sent a letter to district council leader John Fuller, who is in charge of the car parking strategy.

The letter stated that Diss Town Council was extremely disappointed that the district council had appeared to disregard its views on car parking charges and said: "It is felt that South Norfolk Council is trying to force changes to the car parking charges which are contrary to what the town council feels is best for Diss.

"Diss Town Council now feels similarly to Wymondham, that the present arrangements for Diss should not be changed as there appears to be no obvious benefits to the one hour free parking proposal when the remaining charges would increase at such a rate as to be detrimental to our market town."

At a meeting of the town council last month, a series of points were made about car parking charges.

They were included in a letter which was sent to Mr Fuller, Andy Radford (head of finance at South Norfolk Council), council chief executive Geoff Rivers, local district councillors and all the other town and parish councils affected by the car parks review.

Diss Town Council considered the proposed price of £3 per day for long stay parking to be excessive, given that some long-stay parking in Bury St Edmunds costs £1.80 per day.

It said the charges represented a 100 per cent increase in charges for long-stay parking in the town.

The letter states: "Diss car parks pay for themselves at the current prices charged and Diss Town Council, therefore, argues that there are no grounds for increasing the prices further given the detrimental effect this could have on our already struggling market town."


HARLESTON: Proper research should be carried out into ways of funding car parking before any charges are introduced, according to the town council.

It also wants reassurance that the town, which currently has completely free parking, will not be harmed if charges are brought in.

A resolution, which was sent to South Norfolk District Council said the town council "believes that a full and proper analysis of all available options regarding the financing of the car parks in Harleston should be undertaken, before the introduction of any form of charging".

It went on to say that "car park charges should only be introduced if it can be shown beyond all reasonable doubt that such charges will not harm the viability of Harleston and the surrounding villages".

Town council chairman Lynne Aldred said the doors were open to South Norfolk Council, but that so far there was nothing concrete to discuss.
"Where are the figures for us to discuss?" she said.

"We are saying give us the information, then we will discuss it as a full town council and we can get back to South Norfolk Council with the solutions."

She said there were aspects of the proposed car parking charges, such as the issue over what is happening to on-street parking, which remained unclear.

"Residents are going to have this further tax put on them by having to pay for parking," said Mrs Aldred.

"We have been accused of letting the residents of Harleston down but I don't think we are. We are not allowing a policy to be railroaded through.

"I think SNC is letting down its electorate because it is not listening to the people."

Harleston Town Council feels the four market towns are unique and there should not be an overall policy for the whole area.

"If Mr Fuller wants to come and talk to us at a meeting of the full town council then he can," said Mrs Aldred. "We just feel that it's got to go further than a two-way dialogue.

"I think in Harleston, it would mostly be the workers paying for car parking and most of them are in retail. That's about an hour of their wages gone just to park their car."


WYMONDHAM: Rather than accepting the offer from South Norfolk Council of one hour's free parking, the town council feels it would be more beneficial to keep what they consider to be a small fee for each hour.

"We want to retain the status quo," said town clerk Trevor Gurney.
"We are very happy with the situation as it is – we don't see any reason to change it."

Mr Gurney said the town would also like to keep the limited number of spaces that are free for a brief stay.

Wymondham Town Council feels that the introduction of parking charges had a positive effect on the market town.

"About three years or so ago, it was decided to introduce car parking fees in Wymondham," said Mr Gurney.

"There was a bit of resistance but we haven't found the fees have had any negative effects on the town.

"Traders have actually benefitted because whereas car parking spaces were being blocked all day long by people using them as an unofficial park and ride for Norwich, now they are freed up."

He said the town council is reluctant to change the car parking charges, having found that the current level has proved to be beneficial.
"Having gone through the pain of introducing charges, the town council feels people have accepted the charges and doesn't want to change them," said Mr Gurney.

"The proposals from South Norfolk Council may provoke a reaction from traders in the town."

He added that each town should be looked at and a decision about car parking charges should be based on its own individual requirements and needs.

"We are fully in support of the idea that each town should pay in some form towards its car parks but each town should be taken on its needs," said Mr Gurney.

The message from Wymondham to South Norfolk Council is that the town is happy with the car parking charges as they stand.

"We hope it will take on the town council's views before it makes a final decision," said Mr Gurney.


LODDON: Loddon Town Council has expressed its satisfaction at the car parking proposals.

It has come to an agreement with South Norfolk Council where residents and visitors will be able to have two hours free parking in most of the town.

Town council chairman Peter Floyd explained the decision had been made with the help of Co-op supermarket, which is contributing towards the second free hour.

"If you came to us and said would we like car parking charges, the answer would have been no," he said.

"But South Norfolk Council said we would probably be given the charges.

"We said that what we really wanted was two hours free parking in some of the town and our number one priority was whether we could achieve that."

Mr Floyd added that although the town council was happy to have two hours free parking, it was not in agreement about the proposed charges after that time.

"Our initial view was that the proposed charges after the first two free hours were quite steep," he said."Hopefully this will be looked at."

People in Loddon, according to Mr Floyd, had not protested about the proposed charges because they felt they were right for the town.

"We did some research into who was using the car parks and what sort of times people were staying for," he said. "It emerged fairly quickly that if we had two hours free, most of our car park users would be happy with that."

Mr Floyd concluded that against the background of what was going on generally on the issue of car parking charges, Loddon had a deal which was acceptable.


SOUTH NORFOLK COUNCIL: In response, South Norfolk Council leader John Fuller said: "We are having further meetings or discussions (with representatives from Diss, Loddon and Wymondham) to fine-tune the proposals within the car parking review principles."

He said that the council felt it was wrong to be able to park free at supermarkets when you had to pay to support local shops.

"So all across the district we're changing the arrangements to give one hour's free parking in the car parks closest to the shops," he said.
"Local shopkeepers in Wymondham and Diss will benefit from this change so that anyone can pop into the shops without a charge.

"Some towns like Loddon that rely on tourism have suggested that two hours would be better and their town council has successfully negotiated this with our blessing.

Mr Fuller said he thought people could do their shopping within two hours but that if they wanted to stay longer, they would be asked to contribute to the cost of upkeeping the car parks.

"That seems fair – not least because if car parks are blocked with all-day parkers, there will be no space for shoppers," he said.

"The offer of two hours free in Harleston has been proposed but the town council has refused to meet us to negotiate the second hour.

"We have been unable to meet with them even to discuss how to minimise inconvenience during a resurfacing programme that will make their car parks safe, secure and well lit when the evenings pull in.

"Those who are complaining the most are actively standing in the way of a solution.
"We've attended 14 public meetings to discuss the matter and reviewed their own evidence presented to South Norfolk Council's Scrutiny Committee on two occasions," he said.

"Their own evidence shows that 92 per cent of people would be unaffected by the two-hour plans and for those that need to park all day, season tickets are proposed that give all day parking for less than a single hour on-street in Norwich."

Mr Fuller said that Harleston would grow in size by a third and that the town's way of life was changing as hundreds of new houses were being completed.

"The best way to protect the town is to upgrade the car parks, make it easier for shoppers to find a space by limiting free stays to less than two hours and elsewhere in the district to extend free parking in other towns like Diss and Wymondham," he said.

"South Norfolk Council isn't stopping free parking, we're extending it right across the district."


FACT FILE

Short stay car parks 1

Bullock Fair Close (Harleston), Church Plain (Loddon),
Church Street (Diss)

Current price
Up to 30 minutes - free
Up to one hour - free
One to two hours - free
Two to three hours - free
Three to four hours - free
Over four hours - free

Proposed price
Up to 30 minutes - free
Up to one hour - free
One to two hours - £1.00
Two to three hours - £1.50
Three to four hours - £2.00
Over four hours - £5.00

(Season tickets are available on these short stay car parks. Restricted to workers from outside the towns or residents permits. Maximum number of season tickets available limited to 50 per cent of spaces. Price is £300 per year – payable in advance or by monthly direct debit.)

Short stay car parks 2

Mount Street, Weavers, Chapel Street Upper and Lower (all Diss),
Back Lane and Market Street (Wymondham)

Current price
Up to 30 minutes - 30p
Up to one hour - 30p
One to two hours - 50p
Two to three hours - £1.00
Three to four hours - £1.50
Over four hours - £3.00

Proposed price
Up to 30 minutes - free
Up to one hour - free
One to two hours - £1.00
Two to three hours - £1.50
Three to four hours - £2.00
Over four hours - £5.00

(No season tickets are available for these car parks. Residents permits are available at Back Lane and Market Street. Price £300 per year – currently £120. Payable in advance or monthly by direct debit.)


Long stay car parks 1

The Staithe (Loddon) and Broad Street (Harleston)

Current price
Up to one hour -free
One to six hours - free
Over six hours - free

Proposed price
Up to one hour - £1.00
One to six hours - £3.00
Over six hours -£3.00

(Season tickets available on all long-stay car parks to be £300 per year. Unlimited availability of season tickets. This also applies to residents permits. Payable in advance or monthly by direct debit.)

Long stay car parks 2

Park Road, Shelfanger Road East, Shelfanger Road West (all Diss), Cemetery Lane, Town Green (both Wymondham)

Current price
Up to one hour - 50p
One to six hours - £1.00
All day - £1.50

Proposed price
Up to one hour - £1.00
One to six hours - £3.00
All day - £3.00

(Season tickets available on all long-stay car parks are increased from £150 per year to £300 per year. Unlimited availability of season tickets. This also applies to residents permits. Payable in advance or monthly by direct debit.)

Note: South Norfolk Council proposes that residents who have no suitable, available parking will pay £150 per year, limited to one car per household. This has been proposed as the council says there will be a small number of cases where residents have no other option but to park in the nearest car park. SNC says each case will be considered on its merits.

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