Dunstable high street concerns over car parking price hike

Central Bedfordshire Council has opened a consultation into charging people more to use their car parks

Plans to increase car park fees and charges would destroy a town centre's High Street, a councillor said.

Central Bedfordshire Council (CBC) has opened a consultation into charging people more to use their car parks.

The authority is seeking to raise £300,000 from parking in its medium-term financial plan.

Conservative councillor Johnson Tamara said the "timing is absolutely wrong" and would "destroy our high streets, especially in Dunstable".

The Dunstable Northfields councillor raised his concerns during CBC's sustainable communities overview and scrutiny committee meeting, the Local Democracy Reporting Service said.

He said: "Do we want to see a high street without footfall?

"And do we want to see businesses not succeeding because you put up the parking charges without the full implementation of the strategy? That would raise this £300,000, if we do it properly.

"I believe this needs to be withdrawn. This is the wrong time to do it."

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Dunstable Town Council chairman and former CBC councillor Peter Hollick described it as a "sensitive issue" locally.

"It's neither the time to do this nor in the interests of businesses or residents," he said.

Conservative Arlesey councillor Ian Dalgarno said the consultation would end on 14 November.

He said if the authority were to pause the proposed increase, it would undermine the "pressure in the budget next year".

"I would love to hear how that money could be offset in other ways, but it would have to be plausible and deliverable," he said.

The outcome of the consultation would be brought back to the scrutiny committee, Mr Dalgarno said.