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Dales car park fees to go up by 10 percent
PARKING charges are to increase by ten per cent – despite fears it will deter tourism and trade.
Derbyshire Dales District councillors voted for new fees, at council-run car parks, following a heated debate in Matlock Town Hall Thursday.
Bakewell caf owner Les Singleton appealed to the meeting to reject the officers' recommendations saying his customers' main complaint was high parking charges.
He said: "We would hope the council can see the visitor as an asset not as a cash cow to be milked to exhaustion."
Cllr Peter Slack urged members to abandon the increase and said parking for an hour in Ripley, Alfreton and Belper was 50p.
This compared to the new tariff in the Dales, which will be 1.10 for a one hour's stay, two hours will be 1.70 and a day ticket will be 4.70. Discount season tickets are to increase to 220 per year and coach charges will increase to 5.20 for two hours.
Cllr Slack said: "This year we are not out of the proper recession yet. By putting prices up we are going to drive away tourism."
But council leader Lewis Rose said he felt the increase was reasonable. He added: "I'm being quite frank – we need the money. I think it is relatively modest after a four-year period."
And Cllr David Chapman, who owns a holiday cottage in the Dales, said his customers did not see parking fees as an issue. He added: "This will not affect tourism in the way we are being led to believe and I will believe it is affecting trade when I can drive into Bakewell and get a parking space as soon as I drive in there."
Twenty-one councillors voted in favour of the changes with three Labour councillors voting against and four Liberal Democrat councillors abstaining.
The council hopes 148,000 will be generated by the increases as it bids to balance its revenue budget. New fees will be brought in from April 1. Charges were due to be increased last year but because of the financial climate that increase was deferred. Charges were last increased in 2006.
Meanwhile, new parking powers will come into force on Derbyshire's roads from next week.
Parking officers will issue tickets to vehicles that double park or park in front of lowered kerbs from February 1.
There are two levels of charges. The top 70 will be issued for serious offences and lesser offences will be 50. Both charges are halved if paid within 14 days.
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Weather for Bakewell
Thursday 24 May 2012
Today
Sunny spells
Temperature: 11 C to 24 C
Wind Speed: 10 mph
Wind direction: North east
Tomorrow
Sunny
Temperature: 11 C to 22 C
Wind Speed: 18 mph
Wind direction: East
