We're consulting on parking fees and charges
Monday, 23 August 2021
Residents and businesses are being encouraged to have their say on proposed car parking fees and charges changes.
Our parking fees and charges consultation covers charges for parking in 14 of our owned and managed car parks and 20 resident parking zones.
In recognition of the impact the changing shopper habits and the pandemic has had on businesses, we're proposing to protect businesses as much as possible from proposed increase by freezing the charges for business or employee permits, market trader permits.
We're also proposing to keep our afternoon of free parking at the Duncombe Drive car park in Leighton Buzzard and Ashton Square car park in Dunstable and maintain free parking in all car parks after 6pm. Free parking on Sundays will continue in the majority of our car parks, with charges only applying at Steppingley Road, Flitwick, and the multi-storey car park in Leighton Buzzard.
As well as receiving feedback on these specific proposals, we're interested in exploring other ideas and suggestions that could be introduced which would have minimal impact in terms of our reduced income, but could be beneficial for residents and businesses. For example, proposals could reduce the hours we charge for car parking – the current charging hours are from 8am to 6pm (Monday to Saturday), but this could be reduced to 9am to 5pm (Monday to Saturday).
We currently operate resident parking zones and other types of restrictions to address local parking issues. However, the fee charged for permits does not cover the costs of running the schemes, so some increased charges are proposed.
Any additional income from increasing the charges would be invested in further improvements, such as the use of automated number plate recognition (ANPR) vehicles and fixed cameras, which will improve efficiency, monitor, and improve road safety.
Our Executive Member for Community Services, Councillor Ian Dalgarno, said:
I would like to encourage all residents to participate and tell us what they think of the proposals and also make suggestions on other options we could consider.
A well planned and managed approach to parking can help make our towns and local communities better places to live, work and visit. We are therefore asking people to have their say on how we manage parking pricing and the investment priorities that we should be focusing on.
Please take the time to fill in the survey - it should only take five minutes but could make a real difference to your community.
Paper copies of the consultation summary document and questionnaire can be requested by emailing consultations@centralbedfordshire.gov.uk or calling 0300 300 8301.