Return of the parking fees

From the Echo, first published Thursday 2nd Oct 2003.

RESIDENTS, workers and shoppers in the New Forest will have to dig into their pockets for the privilege of parking next year, as councillors yesterday voted to bring back car park charges.

More than four years after they were scrapped, fees will be reintroduced at town centre locations including Ringwood, Fordingbridge, New Milton, Burley and Lymington.

But New Forest District Council hopes to soften the blow by offering £5 annual parking "clocks" to motorists which will give them free stays - but only within the time-limits in short-stay car parks.

The council unanimously agreed to bring back the charges - imposed by the Liberal Democrats in 1998 but scrapped when the Conservatives regained power a year later - to improve traffic management in the district.

Six months of consultation with town and parish councils, plus traders and residents' groups followed, and a list of fees were agreed at the latest meeting of the New Forest cabinet, ready for implementation in January.

Charges will apply between 8am and 6pm, and will be pegged at 50 per hour in most of the car parks.

A cheaper fee of 30p per hour, rising to £2 for the day, will be charged to encourage greater use of the A338 slip road car park at Fordingbridge, where the short-term section of the town centre car park will be limited to two-hours.

Short stays will also be reduced to two hours to improve turnover of spaces in the main Furlong car park at Ringwood, where the council will also look into problems of commuters taking up large swathes of the long-stay park and the adjoining lorry park.

Disabled blue badge holders would be exempt from car park charges and no fees are proposed for coaches at Burley and lorries at Ringwood.

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