Powys parking charges will 'kill the town' says councillor
At a full council meeting on July 23, Welshpool councillors raised issues they had with planned car parking charges being introduced to the town as part of changes following Powys Council's car parking review.
Cllr Sally Fitzgerald said: 'This has upset an awful lot of people. It's going to kill the town. Local business owners are really worried about charges going up.
'There's not enough footfall in town as it is and this would be detrimental to the town as residents would rather go somewhere like Oswestry other than Welshpool. I really don't understand why Powys are doing this because it's not good."
Welshpool mayor Cllr Phil Owen added: 'How in the name of all that's reasonable can Powys apply blanket parking charges to an area the size of this with a sparsely populated area with a lot of rural inhabitants coming into town without adequate transport.
'We're diverse in terms of people's income, their daily usage of the car park and their basic transport facilities. How are we the same as someone in an area with an entirely different economy to ours. It's insane.'
Councillors also considered the issue a problem in tackling illegal parking, driving footfall to the town and inconveniencing people who work and volunteer in Welshpool on a regular basis.
'Powys Council are out for every penny they can get with car parks' said Cllr Alison Davies.
'Look at the 10k event. Last year it was a real problem as they couldn't get everyone to pay because the machines were so slow.
'It's a real problem on the town and on everyone who's employed but also look at volunteers in charity shops, which we have plenty of. Consider the cost for transport and cost of parking for someone doing that.'
Cllr David France also criticised the charges in addition to changes to parking for Blue Badge holders, who will also need to purchase a pay and display ticket in council car parks.
He said: 'We'd all like car parks to be free, while we know money has to come from somewhere, another part that bothers me is the council now asking for disabled people to pay for parking.
'I understand that money will have to come from somewhere but don't make it off the backs of disabled and vulnerable people.'
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