RECENTLY introduced parking charges at Pembrokeshire’s County Hall have raised more than £7,000 in six months, councillors heard.
In February, the county council’s Cabinet backed the introduction of charges at the car park, on the edge of Haverfordwest’s town centre, during a wider item on short-stay parking in the county.
In a submitted question before the October 12 meeting of Pembrokeshire County Council, Haverfordwest Merlins Bridge councillor John Cole asked: “With the introduction of parking charges introduced at County Hall can council be informed of the following.
“What is the current revenue received at the site since charges have been implemented, with the breakdown to include revenue related to the Saturday/Sunday period.
“The use of the car park over the Saturday/Sunday period has fallen dramatically since the introduction of charges, and surely means a drastically reduced footfall in our county town.
“Are there any assessments of impact to businesses within the town post-charge introduction, for comparison against when the public had free parking?”
Cabinet Member for Residents’ Services Cllr Rhys Sinnett said £7,028 had been raised from May 5-October 2, from 4,100 parking transactions.
He told members he did not have usage figures pre-charging so was not able to provide comparative figures.
Welsh government research, assessing the impact of car parking charges, found the general availability of spaces was felt to be more important than cost in shoppers’ or visitors’ decisions in visiting towns, Cllr Sinnett told councillors.
He said blanket free car parking tended to see spaces filled by local workers rather than visitors and shoppers.
