Moves afoot to ease parking woes

11:07am Wednesday 18th February 2004

A new parking tariff encouraging shoppers to park close to the town centre for as little as £1 an hour looks set to be unveiled in April.

Approval on the new rates is expected to be approved at a cabinet meeting on Monday, February 23.

Croydon Council has altered parking rates, allowing shoppers to park as long as they like after 11am for just £3 in Dingwall Road or £5 in Fairfield or Wandle Road multi-storeys.

Season ticket prices and the first hour charge for the popular Allders and Whitgift short term car parks have been frozen to assist shoppers and traders. Other multi-storey rates face small rises of 10p an hour.

Night-time parking costs will not change and on-street pay and display parking in controlled zones will only be subject to inflationary rises.

The parking review, the first for 18 months, is designed to encourage parking in the under-utilised car parks, just as Croydon's parking provision expands with the opening of Centrale in April.

Centrale's 1,000-space car park will be cheaper than the council's 5,200 off-street spaces, but the local authority is confident its charges will be lower than other private operators in Croydon.

Councillor Gerry Ryan, cabinet member for transport, said: "The bottom line is to ensure spaces are used.

"Spaces closest to the town's shopping centres will continue to cost more. But for people willing to walk a short distance, the low cost, flat rate at Dingwall Road, Fairfield and Wandle is extremely good value.

"For someone parking after 11am and staying on to enjoy the night time economy, parking could cost just 50p an hour or less."

Town centre manager Tony Hart said: "We are pleased there has been some positive movement, but businesses are disappointed that prices are increasing.

"It will be interesting to see if there is a migration back to the Dingwall and Wandle facilities."

If approved the new rates will be introduced on April 5.