Shropshire Council to consult on car parking changes

Parking charges in the Shropshire Council area could change if new parking proposals are given the go-ahead.

Shropshire Council is to consult on a series of car parking changes which will see Shrewsbury town centre parking charges increase from £1.60 an hour to £2.50 and Raven Meadows car park in Shrewsbury opening for 24hrs a day.

At its meeting on Wednesday 12 July, Cabinet members will be asked to agree to a public consultation into the proposals. The consultation would begin on Monday 22 July and last for 10 weeks.

The council has carried out a detailed, evidence-based review to inform the new draft strategy, and has put forward a number of proposals.

It would be broken down into four parts:

- Proposals regarding ‘linear’ (set price per hour) parking; pricing bands; unrestricted parking; evening parking; loading bays; ‘pop and shop’ parking, and opening hours at Raven Meadows car park in Shrewsbury to make it a 24hr car park.

- A new policy and tariff framework for weekly tickets, season tickets, residents’ off-street permits, and for coach and HGV parking.

- Proposed changes to Shropshire’s Council’s on-street residents’ parking permit scheme.

- Proposed changes to the car parking waiver system.

Steve Davenport, Shropshire Council’s Cabinet member for highways and transport, said:

“In simple terms we want to offer an improved parking service that is hassle-free, and that makes use of the latest technology. We want a service that offers value for money and that is consistent across the county. And we want to make it easy for our customers to understand how much it costs to park – in our car parks and on-street – and the easiest way to pay.

“The proposals in the new draft strategy are all intended to help us achieve these aims, as well as helping to reduce congestion and pollution. I encourage everyone to have a look at the proposals so that they understand what is being proposed and – importantly – why, and then let us know what they think.”

People will be able to respond online or by completing a hard copy of the consultation document – available in libraries, and at customer service points.

All responses to the consultation would be carefully considered before the final proposals are presented to Shropshire Council’s Cabinet in autumn 2017.