ANPR and cashless car parks to be trialled

Staffordshire Moorlands District Council wants to introduce a range of measures at car parks in the area

Planned changes at some car parks in Staffordshire could raise tens of thousands of pounds for a local authority, according to council officers.

Staffordshire Moorlands District Council bosses plan to introduce charges at 10 currently free car parks and extend charging periods at some from 15:30 to 18:00.

The authority is also planning to introduce automatic number plate recognition (ANPR) cameras, and card-only payments in some car parks.

Councillors raised concerns about the impact of the proposals, causing the authority's leaders to row back on some of their plans.

Some members raised concerns about parents in Cheadle using free car parks for the school run, while others were concerned customers could be driven away from local shops by the removal of free parking.

District council bosses said they would now engage with parish and town councils over the future of the free car parks.

Bosses estimated that introducing charges on free car parks could raise an extra £103,750 per year, while extending the charging period could generate £37,500.

Worries about the impact on parents using car parks in Cheadle during the school run led councillors to agree not to extend charging periods.

'Too valuable to lose'

Cheadle West councillor Kate Mills said the provision of free parking after 15:30 was too valuable to lose.

"Why break what's not broken? It's working for us in Cheadle, and we've got to maintain what we've got," she said.

Councillor James Aberley expressed doubt that introducing charges on these car parks would generate the income expected.

"If we start charging, people will just fill the streets and that will create a whole other problem," he said.

Committee members suggested that smaller councils might be willing to take over some of the free car parks to ensure they remained free.

They voted in favour of engaging with parish and town councils on the issue, as well as backing a trial of ANPR on three car parks and single car park trials of card-only payments and overnight charging.

This news was gathered by the Local Democracy Reporting Service which covers councils and other public service organisations.