Westmorland and Furness Council criticised over parking charge increase
Most of the changes are an increase of around 10 per cent
The council has been slated for increasing parking charges across South Cumbria.
The Liberal Democrat-led Westmorland and Furness Council voted at its budget meeting last month to make a raft of changes, including increased parking costs across the authority area.
Most of the changes are an increase of around 10 per cent, although some have risen by as much as over 16 per cent.
These include rises in short stay and multiple hour parking, all the way up to overnight stays and annual permits.
But the council has come under fire for the measures.
Labour Cllr David Cassidy of Old Barrow and Hindpool ward told the Local Democracy Reporting Service: “All of the increases were put forward at full council by the Liberal Democrat-controlled council.
“The Labour group, and members from other parties, voted against the budget as we believe that the residents of this town are not getting value for money as it is.”
Elaborating on his point of residents not getting value for money, he added: “I do not think some of the services are what residents deserve.”
Cllr Cassidy highlighted issues with weeds and potholes as being issues in the area.
He added: “It was not just a decision by the Labour group, the Conservative group also voted against it.”
When the budget was announced in February, the Liberal Democrat-led administration said that cuts from the Labour Government gave them ‘no choice’ but to increase parking charges, alongside a 4.99 per cent council tax hike.
Cllr Andrew Jarvis, deputy leader of the council, said this at the time: “Our council has suffered grievously in the Government’s funding settlement.
“Given the scale and loss of funding from government which is circa £43 million over the next three years, we have had no choice but to recommend the implementation of increased council tax and charges that will sadly affect every resident in the Westmorland and Furness area.
“£43m is possibly too large a number to be meaningful. So let me describe it another way. The Government is cutting their funding over the next three years by around £400 for each and every household in the Westmorland & Furness area.”
Cllr Jarvis continued: “What I would add is that as a responsible authority with a strong grip on our finances we have already been looking at how much we can save by fundamentally challenging what the council does and how it does it.”
Cllr Peter Thornton, cabinet member for highways and ICT, said: “The increase is around 10 per cent, and it is because of the financial challenges the council faces.
“Even with the increase, they are consistent with other areas’ charges.”
But he added that the council is striving to make parking as “easy and simple as possible”, including the introduction of card machines instead of cash-only.
Cllr Thornton added: “We are also looking at the sizes of some spaces, which perhaps need to be increased to cater for the modern car, especially in multi-storeys.”