WAVERLEY CouncilÕs environment and leisure overview and scrutiny committee has decided that it isnÕt necessary to seek the publicÕs views on plans that could see short term car parking charges doubled and season ticket prices go through the roof

Members were discussing a review of the boroughÕs parking tariffs, but the increases could well be much larger than first thought. Waverley officers have drafted four more options for consideration, that include some huge rises.

A season ticket for Chestnut Avenue car park was supposed to stay the same at £450 a year, but it could now go up to £670 - a 49 per cent hike.

It was originally thought that a season ticket for Haslemere High Street would go up from £750 to £790, but under one option it could go up to £900, a 22 per cent increase.

The £140 increase for Tanners Lane and Weydown Road would stay the same under any of the options.

Short term charges would also sky rocket. The current proposal is for an already significant 20 per cent increase in the charge for the first two hoursÕ stay at the High Street and Chestnut Avenue car parks, to 60p.

But the new options include doubling the existing 50p two-hour charge to £1. A 45-minute ticket would also double, from 35p to 70p.

This would generate an extra £260,000 more than the original proposals, which would help fill the councilÕs £474,000 budget hole. At the meeting, Victor Duckett said that this was the real issue.

But in a series of increasingly heated exchanges, every time Mr Duckett or other councillors tried to raise the subject, chairman Richard Gates said it was not a matter for the committee to discuss.

Members came up with a number of other ideas, including increasing the charge for three-hour stays to £10, to discourage commuter parking.

Providing a park and ride system and replacing a number of smaller car parks with a multi-storey were also suggested. The extra space could then be used to build housing.

Some councillors were unhappy with the complete lack of consultation on the issue, though not the majority.

ÒIÕm quite prepared to believe that people donÕt care if itÕs 35p or £1,Ó said Mr Gates, Òbut not because the portfolio holder says so, but because there has been some consultation.Ó

Patrick Haveron said that although consultation was a good thing, most people would say they were getting a bargain.

Maurice Byham drafted a series of statements for consideration that criticised the report, all of which were rejected by the committee by a narrow margin.

ÒConsultation with shoppers, traders and other stakeholders is appropriate before any increases are agreed,Ó he stated.

ÒAt least the executive should be aware of possible changes to shopper habits, or a reduction in the number of season ticket holders, if a change of this magnitude is made.Ó

By a vote of eight to seven, the committee disagreed. They also rejected Mr ByhamÕs other suggestions, that there would be a negative effect on the local economy if charges were increased and that there should be no further increases in the life of the current administration.

Portfolio holder Duncan Steele said that the current system of tariffs needed to be updated because it was Òa bit of a messÓ. After 13 years of changes people could no longer tell by looking at the charges which car parks were meant for long stays and which for short.

This had caused the problem of short-term sites being used by people to park all day long.

ÒSome people come in first thing and stay eight hours, which is not what they were designed for,Ó he said.

ÒAnd in Farnham, 35 per cent of journeys in a day are to and from different car parks.Ó

Mr Steele said that if a shopper spends anywhere between £10 and £100 in a trip, the difference between a 45-minute charge of 35p and 50p for two hours was not noticeable.

ÒItÕs so small people do not pay much attention to it,Ó he said. ÒWe know this because you only have to see the number of people who go straight to the premium car parks because theyÕre in a more convenient place.Ó

Jacquie Keen said that this was a particular problem in Haslemere, with commuters.

ÒPeople come into town just to use our train station and clog up the car parks, and then take all the best spaces,Ó she said. ÒThey give nothing to the town so I think itÕs fair that they should pay a higher tariff.Ó

The tariffs will next be discussed by the corporate overview and scrutiny committee before going back to the executive on September 30.

The full council will make the final decision, and if approved the new charges could be in place by November 1.