Car parking fees for Nailsea 2

ONLY Nailsea stood up to be counted at a North Somerset Council meeting about car parking fees.

Nailsea Chamber of Trade & Commerce chairman Janet Hendry, Waitrose manager Chris Press, Nailsea Town Council chairman Rod Lees, vice-chairman Clare Hunt and clerk Ian Morrell attended the strategic planning and economic development policy and scrutiny panel.

The delegation made representations against car parking charges for Nailsea.  

It argued that Nailsea should be seen as a separate case to the other towns in North Somerset and it was not a tourist resort and with low visitors number the extra revenue would be minimal.

But North Somerset Council head of highways and transport Colin Medus who has to pay for the concessionary bus fare scheme and road maintenance spoke in favour of introducing fees in all council owned car parks at Weston-super-Mare, Clevedon, Nailsea and Portishead.

Mr Medus has been tasked with either saving or generating money to balance his much reduced budget.

He argued that besides raising revenue, charging would also manage the car parks in terms of more regular turnover of spaces.

And many of the councillors present agreed with him although some did recognise this would have an adverse impact on Nailsea.

Mrs Hendey, who is a partner at Ward & Co solicitors said: "No final decision has been made but, certainly, the general feeling was that parking charges would have to be implemented.

"There was clearly an impetus on the panel to raise extra money for the overall North Somerset Council budget."

Mrs Hendey said: "If local businesses and their customers don't want car parking fees we need to demonstrate to North Somerset Council that in Nailsea it will simply not raise the revenue which they anticipate."

And she urged people to lobby the committee which includes chairman Clive Webb and councillors Chris Blades, Jan Barber, Mark Canniford, Robert Cleland, Bob Cook, Jeff Coombes, Peter Crew, John Crockford-Horley,  Donald Davies, Stephen Fudge, Anne Harley, Nick Pennycroft, David Poole, Ian Porter, Terry Porter, Debbie Stone and Richard Tucker.

For more background information see the original story at http://www.nailseapeople.co.uk/Car-parking-fees-Nailsea/story-13529954-detail/story.html