Residents hit out at parking charges on north coast
Kay and Pam use the West Strand carpark every week
- Published
A Northern Ireland council has announced that it is to start charging for parking at four carparks in Ballycastle and Portrush in County Antrim.
Causeway Coast and Glens Council has put up posters notifying users of the change.
The new seasonal charges will come in on 1 April and run until 30 September.
Parking will cost 50p per hour, everyday, between 08:30 GMT and 18:30.
Public notices explain the incoming charges
The car parks where charges are being introduced are:
West Strand car park, Portrush
Seafront car park, Ballycastle
Harbour car park, Ballycastle
Ferry Terminal car park, Ballycastle
'We have to find money from somewhere'
Causeway Coast and Glens Mayor Stephen Callaghan
Mayor Stephen Callaghan explained why the changes are being introduced.
"We have to find money from somewhere. If we don't put the charges on the car parking here, then the money goes on the domestic rate. And it's the people in the borough who are paying for it rather than people who visit the area and are using facilities for free," he said.
"We hope to raise in the region of £257,000, which is a sum of money they don't have to pay.
"I don't think it's unreasonable to ask people who come to the beautiful countryside we have here at Causeway Coast and Glens to pay a little towards it."
Stealth tax
Aodan Boyle is the owner of Boyles Spar on the seafront in Ballycastle.
He said the move is "essentially a stealth tax on workers" who need to park there for their jobs.
He is worried it will affect his business.
"There's very limited on-street parking here, so it's all car park driven trade," he told BBC News NI.
"So people will just drive on by when they see the car park and charges that's what people do. They'll just drive onto the next place."
Kay Beggs from Portrush is unhappy at the plans.
"We already pay rates and now we're going to be penalised with having to pay car parking here. Charge the tourists, but leave the locals alone. We pay enough," she said.
Pam Logue from Portstewart said she believed that people would park on the roads which would be "really quite unsafe".
Surfers Tom and Will say the charges will be a "hassle"
Surfers Tom and Will said having to pay would put them off coming to the West Strand beach.
"This is sort of one of the most reliable surfing beaches on the north coast here, so I would park here fairly frequently to check out the surf," Tom said.
He said it would lower the footfall and people will go to other beaches.
For Will, having to pay is an inconvenience.
"It's not about the money, sometimes it's about the effort as well," he said.
"Like, do I have cash? Do I need a card? Will we have to downloaded an app or something? It's just a hassle."