Car parking charges in Newent

The original proposal for a  300% rise in the current 50p rate was strongly opposed by Cllr Julie Hudson and Gill Moseley (Newent & Taynton ward) and Cllr Gill Kilmurray (Dymock ward) on the District Council.

New proposals, following a  petition from Newent residents and businesses and a strongly worded letter of objection from the Town Council, as well as numerous objections from all over the Forest District, have seen The Green Party cabinet revise their proposal to come more in line with our suggestions, but they do not go far enough with the free parking periods we think are needed to encourage people to stay in town for longer than an hour. 

We will be putting forward proposals for a longer period of free parking for all spaces and reasonable rates for longer periods. Permits are not the subject of such jaw-dropping rises but need to be considered in the same framework.

Above all, we need to encourage people into the town centre and give them an incentive to stay longer and visit the range of independent shops, the eateries, the lake and all the other amenities. We all know that many shops are struggling and a steep rise in parking charges is absolutely not what is needed to boost the local economy.

This is a proposal put forward by The Green Party cabinet, but they do not have a majority on the council and we are very aware that most other council groups are similarly opposed to the steep rise in charges. Some of us are in talks to produce a fairer proposal.

While we understand that maintaining the District car parks comes at a cost, and all councils are struggling to make ends meet,  but we think that this cost is outweighed by the need to get people back into our high streets and to help the businesses that are at the core of the community.

The final decision is to be made at the Full Council meeting on February 22^nd at Coleford.