Time to map out a plan for Villa's future
- Says blogger Matthew Turvey
Parking fees rise to bring in £170k
Monday 7th December 2009, 11:30AM GMT.
Minimum parking charges in Walsall look set to increase under the council’s plans to rake in more funds.
Finance chiefs hope to raise more than £170,000 over the next three years by scrapping one and three-hour pay and display charges.
They will be replaced by price bands of up to two or four hours. Authority-run car parks in Walsall town centre currently cost 80p for the first hour and £1.50 for two hours. It comes after it emerged that the council was planning to introduce on-street parking fees in the town centre, with motorists paying 20p per 10 minutes.
Town centre roads affected by the proposals include Station Street, Hatherton Street, Lichfield Street, Bridge Street, Ablewell Street and Stafford Street.
Councillor Tom Ansell, Walsall Council cabinet member for transport, said: “We can confirm that we are looking to make changes to the way parking charges are levied in Walsall town centre.
“As a boost to business we are encouraging motorists to stay longer in the town to take advantage of our shops.
“That’s why we are considering changing our parking bands for short stay parking,” Councillor Ansell added.
“The new arrangements could see a band for up to two hours and up to four hours which will be lower than that currently charged. There will also be an all day charge,” he said. A series of cost-cutting measures have been outlined by the council, where bosses have blamed a reduction in government funding. Up to 40 workers could lose their jobs, while another 79 roles will go through the “deletion” of existing vacant posts.
Willenhall Leisure Centre and the Grange Golf Course are due to close. Hundreds of users attended a protest outside the leisure centre last week to make their voices heard. A decision on its future will be made next year. Council chiefs hope the move will raise £100,000 in the next three years.
The proposals to increase revenue through parking is part of an overall effort to generate more income – which will also see a council tax hike of 4.5 per cent next year.
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Councillor Tom Ansell, Walsall Council cabinet member for transport, said: “We can confirm that we are looking to make changes to the way parking charges are levied in Walsall town centre.
“As a boost to business we are encouraging motorists to stay longer in the town to take advantage of our shops.
So – how about actually letting people get the product from town centre shops to their cars? I did this with Prontaprint a couple of weeks ago. I neded four boxes of printing loaded into my car. The parking warden observed ny vehicle from 15.25 – 15.25 (yes, less than one minute!) and ticketed. Walsall Council have the £35.00 (surprise surprise – the appeal failed) but we will no longer be buying anything from central Walsall. Shame really because the product was good.
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Surely there must be other ways of raising revenue? How about charging councillors for the refreshments at their meetings? Or selling off the Mayors car and personalised number plate?
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Andrew Rainsford, now you know why Merry Hill is thriving, now you know why Councils in the Midlands area hate Merry Hill and are constantly calling for Merry Hill to start charging for parking, they want to bring Merry Hill down to their level.
Councils could charge 1p and an hour and I wouldn’t park there, I never go anywhere where I have to pay to park and spend my money, I pay enough for the products I am purchasing why should I have to pay to park? and if everyone else did the same these parking charges would disappear overnight because there would be no businesses to pay business tax in that area, the councils would lose millions, that would concentrate their minds.
It’s not the parking charges that councils make their money out of it’s the swingeing parking penalties they inflict on motorists that really swell council funds.
How about this for an idea? if Walsall Council is really strapped for cash, get rid of the FREE PENSIONS, that the parking charges will be paying for, the low parking charges or the re-banding rubbish fools no one Councillor Tom Ansell.
Taxpayers are paying for the pensions for councillors across the region; Elected politicians at town halls are taking advantage of a special pension scheme to give them handouts after they retire.
The pensions, which were set up by the Government and started in 2003, are funded by taxpayers and are handed out on top of any pensions they might have for full-time jobs. There are 119 councillors across the region in the scheme, Walsall Council has seven.
The system in operation in both government and councils, is that they find every excuse possible to claim money for their departments, if they don’t use up all the money allocated, the amount allocated next year gets dropped so its not in their interest to be prudent and efficient that’s why there is so much money wasted by councils, I live in Sandwell and so know all about Council waste, if they only claimed the money they needed, everyone’s council tax could drop drastically.
These councils don’t need the money raised by parking charges; they just see it as an ego boost to able to boast about the Millions of pounds budget they are in charge off.
Jim of Bearwood.
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Call off the wardens, simples!
They are driving people out of town!
How much of the rising charges are going on the wages of the wardens, the repainting if roads, the installation and updating of pay and display ticketing machines, all the consumables used such as the paper and the plastic in the parking tickets?
We’ve got a perfectly capable NCP on Freer Street for heavens sake which is close enough to shops! There’s a shopping center next to it, I don’t see any reasons shoppers SHOULD us the council car parks.
Who is using the council car parks? Residents, workers and visitors, not really shoppers as they are all clogging up Crown Retail park. Come on Walsall Council admit you’re making things worse! I saw a building contractor being ticketed, what was he doing? Repairing the town library!! Ticketed! Myself I’m a resident of the town center who has had to flee the madness!
Call off the wardens, simple!!
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There’s a way to make this all go away. Call off the wardens! Talk about being chased out of town, as a resident I’ve now legged it and moved out.
I saw a building contractor being ticketed, what was he doing? Repairing the town library, sums it up don’t it Walsall Council?
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Call off parking charges. With place like Merryhill why woulf you want to pay to shop in these derelict towns? These towns are what the councils and councillors have made them! Dudley is a classic case. Beatties gone and no major players left in the town. Whats going to be left in Walsall?
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