Residents and Councillors alike have had concerns on the new proposals put forward by the Canterbury City council about parking. The changes go under consultation this Monday (November 25th). Several residents have pointed out issues regarding rises in parking charges and the changes to free parking, particularly in Herne Bay and Whitstable.
The changes are suggested to help tackle both the environmental crisis as well as the Canterbury City Council’s budget shortfall estimated at £2million.
Ahead of the Consultation here are all the proposals you need to know before Monday:
Herne Bay
- Removal of free parking in William Street Car Park after 6 PM. The two-hour free parking is already set to be reduced to one hour in January and complete removal in March. The current proposal also plans to remove any free parking in the car park. Another suggestion is to remove the current discount offered to leisure centre users who park in the car park.
- Introduction of parking charges in four currently free car parks. This will have a daily rate of £1 during weekdays and £2 during weekends and bank holidays.
- Introduce a seasonal tariff in the Neptune.
Whitstable
- Removal of free parking in Whitstable before 10AM. One of the more controversial changes in the proposal, many residents and several councillors have already spoken out against the change ahead of next weeks consultation.
Canterbury
- Park and ride
- 20% discount on park and ride for regular users
- Improvements and resurfacing of the visitor centre car park
- Increase in electric charging places
- Possible closure of Northgate car park
- Message signs showing number of available spaces in car parks
Car park improvements
These car parks are all on the council’s list for possible improvements for appearance and facilities.
- Watling Street
- St Radigunds Street
- Market Street
- Keams Yard
- Shaftesbury Road
- Gorrell Tank
EV charging points will also be added to:
- Park and Ride sites
- Neptune
- William Street
- Holmans Meadow
General Changes
- Price increase of minimum payment in all car parks to deter drivers for shorter stays.
- Different tariffs based on emissions
- Reduce discount for Business Users and scrap Faith and Community permits.
Herne bay is the one that is hardest hit yet again.we won’t always be the poor relation to Whitstable and Canterbury!