Car Parking – Council Motion
Happy New Year,
Following many conversations over the last several months regarding the Wentworth Car Park, I have written the following motion for consideration at the Hexham Town Council on 4th January. The meeting is in the Council Chamber at 6:45pm and open to the public.
I will keep you posted on the outcome of the debate that follows.
Best
Derek
MOTION BY COUNCILLOR DEREK KENNEDY
Background
Car parking is a major issue for Hexham residents, workers and visitors alike. Since being introduced the free parking has had time to be tested and results have been very mixed.
1. The short term free parking in for example Beaumont St and Gilesgate car park has proved to be a success and should continue.
2. However the major flaw is the Wentworth car park. The current red, white and blue bays are confusing and ineffective. Particularly for those who work in the town, they are lifeblood of the town, spending money and time every working day. It is unfair for these key people to have to compete against one another for the limited number of long stay bays. Local residents are also left going round in circles looking for spaces.
3. We are seeing the Wentworth car park overwhelmed by the demand for parking.
4. Some long term bays are being used by those who travel away from Hexham, for example, by rail to other parts. There are other various perverse parking activities taking place which are to the detriment of the Town’s economic and social activity.
5. The conclusion is that the parking situation in Wentworth is not the best solution for Hexham. The public and business people demand a change and therefore:
I propose:
A. Hexham Town Council will support the re-introduction of [cheap] car parking charges in the Wentworth car park as the best form of control to ensure effective traffic management.
B. Wentworth car park would have similar charges to those in 2013. Namely, 30 pence an hour up to a maximum of £2 a day. Annual Permits would also be available at £100 a year (£2 a week).
C. Wentworth’s long, medium and short term bays should be removed. The replacement would be white bays controlled by cheap charges.
D. The money generated from car park charges, that can be estimated at £350,000 a year, is ring-fenced and placed into a newly formed Hexham Trust Fund.
E. The Hexham Trust Fund would pay for the liability of parking such as car park repairs and cash collection costs. The profit would then be ploughed back into Hexham traffic related projects. For example introduce park and ride or build new car parks.
F. The Hexham Trust Fund would be administered by the Town Council together with partners such as Hexham Community Partnership, Hexham Businesses, Northumberland County Council and other similar parties.
G. This change would help stimulate Hexham’s future positively and would engage with other initiatives around the town such as the Business Improvement District.
Submitted to Hexham Town Council December 23rd by Councillor Derek Kennedy
See the Hexham Courant article ‘Let us pay for parking‘ for further thoughts
If you have any questions please contact Derek Kennedy at
Email – Derekhexham@gmail.com
Telephone – 01434 607669
Address – 2 Alemouth Road, Hexham, NE46 3PJ
website: www.derekforhexham.net