The recent budget proposals at Teignbridge Council included a number of significant rises in parking fees…including huge rises for permits. It is estimated that an extra £100,000 will be taken out of the motorists pocket. The consequence of this will probably be more parking on street in residential roads as drivers refuse to pay the increases. The details are in this weeks Mid Devon Advertiser (MDA), but I can also forward them to anyone who wants to see and can’t get an MDA.
Our (Lib Dem) proposals in the budget included introducing a resident friendly permit charge at Osborne Street Car Park for local residents to encourage use of an under used facility, but the Conservative administration is actually raising the charges, despite the car park being under used. A daft proposal if ever I heard one! We also sought a free first 20 minutes in the main rural village car parks and we wanted a scheme to start the free parking in our three main towns (Newton Abbot, Teignmouth and Dawlish) on Saturdays from the current 6pm, to 4 pm. This is because the main towns are log jammed on Saturday mornings from 10 til 1.30 and this causes poor air quality, which is a major concern as it impacts hugely on human health. In addition the shops are packed in the mornings ( nothing wrong with that!) but largely empty from early afternoon on wards. How much better therefore to spread the load of shopping pressure. It may well even encourage more people to shop in our towns and thus help the economy. The Conservatives turned down the proposal, but we will bring the ideas back to a council car parking group asap.
Meanwhile, I repeat the request if you are concerned by these additional price rises to complain to Neil Blaney c/o Teignbridge District Council, Forde House, Brunel Road TQ12 4XX. ( or go to web site and comment on line) The details are in the MDA.