RULING Tories at East Hampshire District Council have bowed to public pressure and thrown out unpopular proposals to hit Alton motorists with yet more car parking charges. The two major proposals which came out of the special car parking working group's (CPWG) year-long deliberations were set to have the most devastating effect in areas represented by senior Tories. The first would have seen an extension to the charging period and the second would have introduced car park charging in the villages. In Alton, while many were in favour of spreading the cost of car park provision more evenly across the district, the cabinet's development portfolio holder, local member Patrick Burridge (Downland), would have faced fierce opposition to any attempt to take more money from the town's car park users. Earlier this year, Alton Chamber of Commerce and Industry fought hard against what it believed to be the injustice of Alton and Petersfield having to bear the full force of a "hefty and unfair" increase in car parking fees. And it would have been outraged by any attempt by the working group to extend the charging period, which currently ends at 6 pm, to cover the period from 8 am to 8 pm. It was, however, an attractive proposition for the CPWG, which had worked out that the increased charging period for car parks in Alton and Petersfield had the potential to increase car park income by £38,000 per annum. Nonetheless, while members believed that an extended charging period would catch mid- evening shoppers, they also expressed concerns about the impact on the "evening economy" in both town centres. "Comments from local businesses and people organising or attending meetings, plays, concerts and other leisure activities will need to be sought," they reported. There was concern too over the availability of free parking at Sainsbury's in Alton and at Tesco in Petersfield which, it was suggested, could result in more people parking in these car parks if charging hours were extended to 8 pm. In addition, on-street parking restrictions in parts of the town centres cease at 6 pm which, the working group warned, could result in more on-street parking. In the event, cabinet members threw out the recommendation to extend the charging period after Geoffrey Whittle (Headley) slammed it as "another persecution of motorists". He told the meeting: "I am 120 per cent against this. I see no gain. They talk about a £38,000 increase in income but they have not worked out all the associated costs. "I think this is a non-starter and I recommend to cabinet that we do not agree this." The leader of the Liberal Democrats, Alton's Tony Ludlow, told the cabinet: "One of the decisions I seriously regret during our administration's time in power was changing the car park charging time from 9 am to 5 pm to 8 am to 6 pm. It was a mistake because it changed the balance of overnight parking and many problems were generated. To move the times again to 8 am to 8 pm would make the matter worse." Tongue in cheek, he added that the only benefit he could see in favour of the proposal was: "If you do it, you may well lose the next election." Former EHDC leader Elizabeth Cartwright (Liss) told councillors: "I cannot accept 8 pm and I really question that it would make £38,000. If people are not parking after 6 pm now when it is free, they certainly are not going to pay for it." On an equally controversial note, members agreed with the working party recommendation that charging should not be introduced in village car parks. They also voted in favour of the proposal that parish councils should be invited to take on the ownership and management of these car parks. While the decision was to keep the matter of village charging under review, Mrs Cartwright made it clear that she would remain opposed to such a move, fearing that shoppers would "simply choose to shop elsewhere", resulting in an adverse knock-on effect to the village economy. She told colleagues: "I could never support car parking charges in Liss." Alton Chamber of Commerce and Industry, on the other hand, had been in favour of charging in the villages, and in particular in the tourist spots of Chawton and Selborne where, it was felt, visitors expected to pay. Speaking after the meeting, Dr Tony Ludlow told The Herald that there were complications with both villages because the car parks were in shared ownership which would make it difficult for EHDC to charge. It had been agreed, however, to review the situation in both villages. The cabinet also threw out a proposal to consider the introduction of car parking charges for EHDC workers at Penns Place. Mr Burridge told fellow cabinet members it was not a town centre car park. It was on the edge of the centre and he could see no good reason for looking at charging there. Councillors agreed the remaining proposals, which included looking at renting space in council car parks for car valeting services and reviewing parking charges on a two-yearly basis. They also voted to throw out any idea of charging on Sundays, public and bank holidays because it could have an adverse impact on local activities and would be likely to result in an increase in on-street parking at a time of no enforcement cover.
