Stourbridge News, Stourbridge Sport, Stourbridge Leisure - From The Stourbridge News

PARK FIGHT LOST

From the archive, first published Friday 19th Jul 2002.

OPPONENTS to plans to hike up car parking charges in Dudley appear to have lost their battle after councillors reluctantly agreed to a timetable of rises.

Although parking charges have not been increased since they were first introduced in 1993, traders have hit out at the proposed plans for rises over four years.

Members of Dudley Council's executive committee agreed to the rises which would see an average 50 per cent increase over four years.

For example, parking in Dudley on a short stay car park for two hours is currently 40p but will go up to 50p on October 1 and increase each year to 80p by October 2006.

And a longer than three hours stay on a long stay car park will go from £1 at the present to £1.70 by 2006.

The council says the increases are needed to pay for repairs to the council's crumbling car parks - with Stourbridge's multi-storey car parks proving the biggest drain on resources.

Director of the urban environment, Roger Johnson, said: "Because of the increase in the use of cars and the need to encourage the use of alternative transport we need to carry out a review of what we are doing with car parking.

"We have carried out consultation with traders in the town centres - which have been disappointing attendances for - and there is a feeling of resigned need to pay."

But the charges were attacked by cllr Peter Miller who said: "When we go back eight or nine years, the excuse given for charging for parking was we needed the cash to repair multi-storey car parks.

"Now we're using exactly the same excuse to put the charges up even more."

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