Council to look again at parking charge plan (From Barry And District News)

Council to look again at parking charge plan

THE proposal to charge for parking in Barry town centre has been returned to the Vale of Glamorgan Council cabinet for further investigation.

Castleland councillor Barry Shaw called the matter in at a scrutiny committee last Thursday, and asked that when the cabinet members meet to discuss the issue, they investigate it further before agreeing on the idea.

Car parking charges in Cowbridge have been given the go-ahead in principle by cabinet - but residents are objecting.

Dr Chris Pearce of the Cowbridge and Llanblethian Residents Group was present at the scrutiny committee to put their case against the charging.

He said: "Evidence from similar towns shows that parking charges are likely to deter visitors, especially when there are four large out-of-town retail parks within a ten mile radius with ample free parking."

Cllr Shaw said: "If we are not careful, Court Road car park could become a'white elephant' in the town.

"We could be literally driving business away - in fact they could be driving themselves away. There is no mention of what charges would be implemented.

"A nominal fee such as 20p a day or free for the first two hours of parking could be implemented.

"If the car park has charges put on it there is nowhere else for teachers at Holton Road School to park because they have no school car park."