CAR parking charges in Craven Arms will be scrapped from April – thanks to £10,000 from the town council.
Charges were introduced on the Corvedale Road Car park two years ago. But rather than pay, many motorists chose to park on nearby streets, leaving the pay and display car park almost deserted.
Traders also claimed the new charges were driving would be shoppers away from the town centre. Now comes news that from April 1, 2010, the car park will be free.
Shropshire Council predicted it would make £6,000 during 2009/10 from parking payments at Corvedale Road.
So instead, Craven Arms Town Council agreed to pay £10,000 to make the car park free for the next two years.
The town council will ask the Craven Arms Rural Joint Local Committee for a grant towards the cost, on the grounds free car parking would help the local community.
Town councillors were reassured by their clerk, Eric Williams, that the costs could be met from council reserves and would not cause a council tax increase in Craven Arms.
The car park ticket machine will stay, in case charges were re-introduced in future. Shropshire Council will continue to monitor the car park to ensure it’s not used for overnight or long term parking.
Town council chairman Councillor Neville Stephens said: “I have been contacted by businesses who felt the car parking charges were detrimental. And the car park has been very much underused.
“We didn’t want to take over the maintenance of the car park from Shropshire Council, instead it’s as though we have spent £10,000 on buying a ticket for everyone who wants to park there.”
Councillor Stevens said he now hoped that people decided to use the car park rather than park on double yellow lines or clog up the streets in Craven Arms with parked vehicles.
Samantha Tharme, Shropshire Council’s team leader for traffic and transport studies, said: “We have agreed to this arrangement with the Town Council for two years on a trial basis.
“This is subject to the parking strategy, which is currently being developed for Shropshire Council, as we want to ensure that parking is fair and dealt with consistently across the county. This could mean the arrangement is reviewed following council decisions on the strategy later in the year. ”
