DENBIGHSHIRE County Council has been slammed by a concerned councillor for its decision to increase car parking charges from next month.
The council will increase the prices of pay-and-display car parks and on-street parking from March 4 by as much as £1 in some cases.
The car park charges will see prices increased at both short-stay and long-stay car parks.
Rhyl councillor Brian Jones, the former cabinet member for highways, slammed the move.
“In my view this certainly won’t do towns in Denbighshire any good,” he said.
“It is public opinion we should be listening to.
“They want more free parking. They see that as the answer. Towns like Rhyl need all the help they can get.
“There seems to be a bit of a disconnection between the people making the decisions and the people who are trying to regenerate the town and the people who want to use the town centres, the residents.”
Cllr Jones suggested free parking on Rhyl’s high street could help boost the town’s economy before claiming free parking had even helped resolve a footfall problem in Salisbury town centre after the Novichok poisonings in March 2018.
“The attack that happened in Salisbury emptied the town,” said Cllr Jones.
“It was like a ghost town after weeks and weeks after they gave the all clear, but they still couldn’t get people to go back, and then one day, someone on the council said they would offer free parking, and overnight the town centre went from a ghost town to bustling, all because of the free parking offer.”
Denbighshire will increase the price of year-round short-stay car parks by £1 for parking up to three hours from £2 to £3 whilst increasing the timeframe in which drivers must pay from 8am-5pm to 8am-11pm.
Drivers wanting to stay over three hours at short-stay car parks will also now have to pay £8 rather than £7.
The cost of parking for thirty minutes at short-stay car parks will also rise from 30p to 80p – and will increase from £1 to £1.50 for up to an hour.
At long-stay car parks, too, prices will increase from 30p, £1, £1.50, and £3.50 to 80p, £1.50, £2.50, and £4 accordingly, depending on the duration of up to 30 minutes, one hour, three hours, and over three hours.
Other car parks are priced on an individual basis.
For example, parking at St Peter’s Square in Ruthin will rise from 50p to 70p for 45 minutes.
There will be price increases, too, at Prestatyn’s Barkby Beach and Rhyl’s east parade car parks, which will see tickets increase from £1, £3, and £4.50 to £1.50, £4, and £5, depending on the duration.
Prestatyn Nova will put prices up from £1.50, £3, and £4.50 to £2, £4, and £5 accordingly.
Meanwhile Rhyl’s on street parking on the promenade will increase from £1, £3, and £4.50 to £1.50, £4, and £5 accordingly for one hour, up to four hours, or over four hours, but the council have also increased the timeframe in which drivers must pay from 8am – 6pm to 8am – 11pm.
For a full list of prices for individual car parks, click here.
