COUNCILLORS have voted in favour of reintroducing car parking charges in Wrexham at council-owned sites.
At a meeting of the Executive Board on Tuesday (December 12) councillors decided to move away from the current ‘free after 11am’ scheme at all council car parks involved.
The charges are as follows:
- SHORT STAY CAR PARKS: Market Street, Library, St Giles, St Georges Crescent, Waterworld Short Stay, Guildhall (Sat & Sun only).
- For parking up to two hours, tickets purchased from midnight to 11 am would be £1.50, and from 11.01 am to 11.59 pm is also £1.50.
- For a max stay (three hours) tickets purchased from midnight to 11 am would be £3 and from 11.01am to 11.59pm would be £2.
- LONG STAY CAR PARKS: Waterworld Long Stay, Crescent Road – tickets purchased from midnight to 11am would be £3 and from 11.01 am to 11.59 pm would be £2.
- SEASON TICKETS: Waterworld, Crescent Road – £350 for 6 months
- CONTRACT SPACES – £450 for 6 months
The ‘free after 11am’ scheme has been in place since October 2020 to help business recovery during the pandemic, however, it was not intended to be permanent.
The changes will be introduced in April 2024.
Cllr Mark Pritchard (Ind) who introduced the report into the charges said: “I’m a realist. We always knew that we would come to this point.”
He added that he was under pressure to “increase the charges further” and that “none of us as Exec Board members wanted to do this”.
During discussions, it was acknowledged that the change would be unpopular. Cllr Marc Jones (Plaid) asked that members consider “unintended consequences” off the back of the charges.
He explained: “We will have the unintended consequences of people looking for free parking on residential streets.”
Cllr Andy Gallanders (Plaid) questioned one of the recommendations, which was “to explore opportunities to improve effective management of car parks at entry and exit points”.
He was informed by Cllr Pritchard that among discussions being had on the plans is the suggestion of barriers and how they would apply to different car parks.
Cllr Pritchard added: “Car parking is difficult, and we have to manage it.”
Cllr Gallanders then asked about costs and was told by Cllr Pritchard that in his personal opinion the ‘free after 11am’ had been value for money.
Other concerns were raised during the meeting, with suggestions of a “halfway measure” and any negative impact charges might have on businesses, however it was argued that the charges are low and may positively impact visitors with more available parking.
Cllr Pritchard said on the charges that “it’s fair, it’s reasonable” and “in an ideal world we won’t be doing this”.
The charges will also bring a source of income to the council, which it facing cuts to services to save on costs.
