Liberal Democrats Fight for Fairer Parking in Bristol
Drivers will be charged to park in district car parks for the first time, under proposals pushed through by Labour and Green Party councillors. Liberal Democrats managed to secure the first hour free, to reduce impacts to residents and businesses.
The plans to charge for parking in ten neighbourhood car parks were first brought forwards under the Labour-led Mayoral administration, but deferred by a vote at full council. The proposals were brought back by the Green Party chair of the Transport Committee in September, but defeated again by a cross party vote.
In yesterday’s meeting of the Transport Committee the charging plans were pushed again by the Green Party, only slightly changed from September. The revised policy allowed that 1-hour of parking would be made free, as suggested by the Liberal Democrats at the previous meeting.
However, the catch was that it would only be available via phone or digital parking apps, and unavailable to anyone wishing to use a physical machine. After the first hour, parking would be charged at £1.50 per hour up to 4 hours.
Ten car parks are covered by the proposal, including the ones on Callington Road and Sandy Park Road in Brislington West, and Westbury Hill in Westbury-on-Trym and Henleaze. The latter saw over 140 public statements submitted in opposition.
Cllr Jos Clark, Lib Dem Councillor for Brislington West, explained: “Introducing fees in the car parks on Callington Road and Sandy Park Road will be disastrous for our local community.
“These two car parks serve the local shops and businesses that are next to them. People use these car parks to pop into the shop to grab a pint of milk or pick up a bag of chips on their way home from work.
“We have a real concern that forcing the hassle of sorting out parking onto people will deter them from using their local shops and drive them elsewhere.
“Coupled with the disruption caused by the ongoing gas works, the prospect of charging customers to park will be another killer blow for our local small businesses in Brislington West.”
Cllr Nicholas Coombes, Lib Dem member of the Transport committee and representative of Westbury & Henleaze, argued against the payment proposals at the meeting.
“Car parks like these are supposed to support local communities and relieve on-street parking. As on-street parking in Westbury-on-Trym is not controlled, if the car park is chargeable then it will displace parking to nearby residential streets – or send shoppers elsewhere.
“Hundreds of local residents objected to these proposals, including the Westbury-on-Trym Society which pointed out the harm to local businesses. The local doctor’s surgery raised concerns that their patients will struggle with the digital-only short-stay ticket, and surgery staff will have to assist.”
To mitigate these potential effects, Cllr Coombes proposed and successfully argued that the 1-hour free parking should be made available at the physical parking machines, in addition to the phone and digital parking services.
“Hopefully, by making sure that everyone can access the 1-hour free parking via the parking machines – not just those who use the mobile phone and app - more people can visit the doctors and stay shopping locally.”
The charging proposals, amended to include a free first hour, were pushed through by Labour and Green Party Councillors on the Committee.
Notes to editors:
- Papers for the December Transport and Connectivity Committee meeting can be found here: ModernGov - bristol.gov.uk
- Papers for the September Transport and Connectivity Committee meeting can be found here: ModernGov - bristol.gov.uk