Parking charges decision to be made after extensive feedback and all options considered

The council’s Cabinet agreed in April to stop subsidising three hours of free parking in Sudbury, Hadleigh and Lavenham to help address a £6.7million budget gap over the next four years.

After the decision was ‘called in’, the Overview and Scrutiny Committee asked for it to be reviewed on a number of grounds – including further consideration of a one-hour free tariff option and assessing the economic impact.

The Cabinet will meet again on 2 August to discuss this further work. 

Additional information is included in the new report, but it recommends the one-hour free option is not implemented because it is unaffordable.

This means the council would proceed with the charges agreed in April – which at £1 for short stay parking for the first hour, or £1 for two hours in long stay, are below those of neighbouring authorities. There are no plans to introduce charges for parking on Sundays or Bank Holidays, and Blue Badge holders would continue to be allowed to park for free for up to three hours in all council car parks.

Deputy council leader Cllr John Ward, cabinet member for finance, assets, and investments, said: "We’ve sought extensive feedback, thoroughly considered every option, and acted on every recommendation made in the last six months – including further exploring the option of one-hour free parking.

“We have fully debated and scrutinised this issue. However, after this huge amount of work, the recommendation to cabinet remains that we introduce modest, short-term charges - and do not implement one-hour free parking, as we cannot afford to.”

The report estimates the one-hour free parking option would cost the council up to £644,000 over the next three years, which would need to be met from reserves.

However, it does recommend freezing the cost of a season ticket at £250, supporting workers who need to park all day. This is in addition to reducing all-day parking from £3 to £2.50.

The council also proposes strengthening how it reviews parking charges in the future, by benchmarking and monitoring data such as vacant high street properties and footfall numbers.

On the economic impact of parking charges, the report says there is no standardised way for local authorities to measure this, and limited relevant surveys are available.

It also stresses the price of car parking charges – when set at a modest level - is not the only factor affecting local economic success.

Council leader, Cllr Deborah Saw, said: “We do not believe High Street success is defined by parking charges. It is decided by many factors, including what they offer residents and visitors – and we believe our towns offer a huge amount and are worth a modest parking fee to visit.”

Parking is currently free for three hours in Sudbury and Hadleigh, and all day in Lavenham, but with Babergh facing a £6.7million budget gap over the next four years, it can no longer afford to continue subsidising free parking without cutting other essential services. 

There will be refund arrangements for users of the council’s leisure centres at Sudbury and Hadleigh, and also for customers to Roys in Sudbury.

In addition, officers are exploring exemptions for users of nearby medical centres and mobile screening facilities, and possible means-tested permit schemes being explored for parents using council car parks for the school drop off and pick up.

New charges would be introduced before the end of the year.