Petition set up against proposed town parking fees

Breckland Council says its 30 car parks are currently costing taxpayers about £450,000 per year to maintain

More than 1,000 people have signed an online petition against a council's plans to introduce car parking fees in market towns.

Senior councillors at Breckland Council in Norfolk approved the proposals on Monday.

The Breckland Labour Group, which set up the petition, described the move as "unnecessary and punitive".

The council says a public consultation will be held before the fees are introduced in 2025.

Towns affected included Attleborough, Dereham, Swaffham, Thetford and Watton.

Paul Adcock, a director of Adcocks Home Electricals in Watton, said he worried about the "severe impact" the new fees would have on the High Street, which had lost many banks and building societies in recent years.

"Given the state of things at the moment, it's the last thing we want," he said. "It's another barrier to people coming shopping in the town.

"The council is talking about app-based, solar powered parking machines which in most cases you need to be a rocket scientist to operate so that in itself is enough to put old people off from using the High Street."

Watton has three council-owned car parks, which provide 180 spaces

The council said maintaining its 30 car parks was costing its taxpayers about £450,000 per year, and it needed to help maintain its budget.

In the last financial year, the council faced more than £2m of "additional pressures".

Sam Chapman-Allen, a Conservative councillor and chairman of the council, told Monday's cabinet meeting that members were aware of the "financial challenges" they were "beginning to face".

"All of our services, whether it's car parks, CCTV, waste collection or leisure has to ensure we're getting the best value for money and we're providing those statutory services for all residents with the most appropriate value," he said.

"We're not going to get it right for everybody but we have to do something."

When the new fees are introduced, each market town would have one car park offering the first hour's parking for free, with tariffs between 50p and £1 for the first chargeable hour.

The council said it had commissioned an independent report and feasibility study that recommended introducing the charges.

It said evidence suggested parking fees could result in an increase in footfall.

Similar plans by the council in 2012 led to an online petition and concerns about shoppers avoiding high streets.