Minutes:
A Question had been received from Cllr Lewis Strange.
“Chairman thank you.
My question to you, is to ask that this Council and the Prosperous Communities Committee, to look again at car park charging in Market Rasen before the implementation is delivered.
If it is really too late, to stop car park charges, then at least adopt the approach of north Lincolnshire and elsewhere, where a visitor can park for two hours free of charge, at any time. This has proved to work in Brigg which is booming, would you not agree that we need to work with the businesses and town council of Market Rasen? And listen to the comments from our member of parliament and its local West Lindsey Members - they are local and understand the problems that Market Rasen faces.”
Lewis Strange-the Kelsey Wold ward.
A response was given by the Chairman of the Prosperous Communities Committee, Councillor Sheila Bibb.
“Thank you Cllr Strange for this question regarding the car parking charges in Market Rasen. However this is only one area within West Lindsey and the proposed charges are in fact part of an overall strategy regarding car parking charges throughout the District. This was adopted by the council as part of its medium term financial strategy at the Council meeting held in March 2016 and followed a series of workshops and public engagement exercises.
It may be worth noting here that some businesses in Market Rasen expressed the view that, because many people took advantage of the free parking to leave their vehicles there all day, there was in fact insufficient ‘churn’ of vehicles which in turn adversely affected the businesses in Market Rasen.
The subject of Market Rasen parking charges has been debated at all committees and the current policy reflects the outcome of those deliberations and is designed to comply with the agreed strategy namely:
- A full cost recovery for operating and maintaining West Lindsey District Council car parks
- Equity in approach across all West Lindsey District Council car parks
- Support for local businesses by offering an element of free parking
In the case of Market Rasen this has meant recognizing that they have a different offer and therefore the parking charges there will be at half the rate of Gainsborough. There will be free parking after 3.00 pm, in line with car parks elsewhere in the District.
When brought to the Prosperous Communities Committee it was agreed that once the charges were implemented, the situation would be reviewed in six months. We are certainly mindful of all the comments received, both before the strategy of introducing charges was developed and since. What we are aiming for here is an equitable approach and the actions taken will be monitored and reviewed after six months.
A clear decision has been made, and in line with the Council’s constitution, can only be reviewed after 6 months. The Council is committed to reviewing the impact of charges in Market Rasen, and is working with the Chamber of Commerce to make sure that the evaluation captures the perspective of businesses and residents as well as car park performance.
Thank you again for the question and raising the continued concerns of your constituents.”
Councillor Strange further noted that he was not against car parking charges, but wished to dissuade long term parking of commuters. East Lindsey had implemented charges and then withdrawn them. Gainsborough had six times the footfall of Market Rasen and shops were in danger of closing.