Parking fee rises killing town trade - councillor

There are concerns car parking tariff increases in Callington are impacting footfall in the town centre

Car parking tariff increases are "killing" trade in part of Cornwall, a councillor has said.

Councillor Andrew Long, who represents Callington, told Cornwall Council at a meeting on Tuesday he was "enraged" about the issue in the town.

The tariffs were increased across Cornwall in May.

The council’s portfolio holder for economy, councillor Louis Gardner said: “We can’t blame all the woes of a town centre on town centre parking."

'Stone dead'

The local authority’s economic scrutiny committee was discussing a review of the new parking structures and tariffs.

Mr Long told the meeting: “I’m enraged about this, absolutely enraged. You’re killing our town. Stone dead.

"We’ve lost two businesses already," he said, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

"There’s more following suit because Cornwall Council have failed to understand one size does not fit all.”

Data suggests there has been an increase in use of about two-thirds of the council’s 117 car parks between June and September this year, compared to the same period in 2022.

However, use has declined "noticeably" in Callington, the data shows.

Previously, the first hour was free at the town's main car park but, since May, people have had to pay £1

At the meeting, Mr Long said if the council waited 12 months to review the figures, there would not be any shops left in Callington.

He added: "We won’t have a town centre at the end of 12 months if you carry on in the way you’re going at the moment.

"We won’t have a town centre. You won’t have the income because people won’t be going there because there won’t be any shops.

"That is what your charges have done. That is what Cornwall Council’s decision has done to my town."

The council’s portfolio holder for economy, Mr Gardner, who said parking could not be solely to blame, added: "Cornwall Council has put almost £3m into town vitality.

"Callington only applied for £17,440 from the Town Vitality Fund, yet was entitled to £50,000."

Mr Gardner said he was "willing to work with Callington" in order to get the money allocated to the town.

The portfolio holder for transport, councillor Richard Williams-Pears, said he and council officers would "spend a lot of time looking very hard" at the parking figures to review them going forward.