Babergh District Council parking charges postponed indefinitely

Free car parking was to have been reduced from three hours to one across the council's car parks

New parking charges in south Suffolk that were due to come into effect in January have been postponed.

Babergh District Council announced plans in February to reduce free parking from three hours to one, to increase revenue.

Sian Dawson, Conservative cabinet member for the environment, said she recommended that the new tariffs be "postponed indefinitely".

She said they hoped to be "financially creative" to cover the loss of fees.

Other political groups at the council, which has no single party in overall control, expressed dismay at the decision, the Local Democracy Reporting Service reported.

Deputy council leader, Clive Arthey, who heads up the independent group, said Babergh should not postpone the implementation.

He said the cross-party cabinet had made the "difficult but very necessary decision" to reduce free parking earlier this year.

'Financially creative'

This was in order to reduce the annual deficit of £210,000 needed to run and maintain council car parks in the district, which includes the towns of Hadleigh and Sudbury.

He said the charges should be implemented from January to "help cover the cost of the shortfall".

Sian Dawson said the council had to manage a "very careful balancing act"

Leigh Jamieson, leader of the Green group said it was "disappointing news" as they had hoped extra car parking income would be spent on improving buses, cycling and walking.

"That means everyone who pays council tax, even if they don't have a car or choose not to drive, is subsidising those who do," he said.

Ms Dawson, who now has responsibility for waste, licensing and public realm, said parking was a "very careful balancing act" between the immediate needs of the district's towns and the authority's vision for them.

"I recommended to [Conservative council leader] John Ward to make the decision to postpone the implementation of the new tariffs indefinitely, while we continue to prioritise supporting our businesses and welcoming people back to our high streets," she said.

"I am hopeful we can be financially creative over coming months to finance the loss... and continue to help our towns to thrive."

She added that any new implementation date or tariff changes were unlikely to be before 2023 as a district-wide parking strategy was being worked on.

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