Car parking charges campaign launched

Last Saturday I launched a car parking charges campaign in Worthing town centre with the help of a leading Government Minister. Vernon Coaker, Minister of State for Schools and Learners, was in town to lend his support for car parking charges to be reduced.

Worthing Borough Council transferred over the management of eight Council car parks to NCP in 2004. These included 4 multi-storey car parks, three of which are situated close to the main shopping area, for which NCP charge a minimum £2.90 for 2 hours parking.

The number of people visiting the town centre in April and May dropped by 13% compared to last year, compared to a nationwide fall of just 0.1%.

I have called on Worthing Borough Council to urgently meet NCP to discuss reducing the parking charges at those car parks managed by them on behalf of the Council. This would attract more shoppers to the town at a time when local businesses and shops need support.

Whenever I park in one of the town centre car parks I am always very frustrated by the minimum £2.90 charge for the first two hours. If you’re in a rush and need to nip into town for thirty minutes you often end up paying it reluctantly. Car parking in town is a very sore subject. For too long the Council has dragged its feet and not done anything about it. What I want to see is action and not words, which is often the case when it comes to Worthing Borough Council.

Five hundred people signed the petition in the space of one hour. People were queuing in the rain to sign it and you could see people were genuinely furious about the situation.

Vernon Coaker, Minister of State for Schools and Learners, added:“Car parking charges are causing real problems here in Worthing. The latest figures show a 13% drop in trade and clearly that is unacceptable. The Council needs to meet with NCP to see what can be done.”

“Ian is showing again that he is at the forefront of community issues, in tune with local people, and working hard to show what kind of a representative he would be. And here we are today with hundreds of people signing the Labour petition. Let’s hope it does some good.”

Watch the parking campaign launch video here