0.1% of what the Vale Council spends annually. That is the figure that the Vale of Glamorgan Council Cabinet have been attempting to raise by introducing car parking charges in the handpicked towns of Barry and Cowbridge. The local authority stated clearly that the primary aim of installing parking meters in our towns is to raise revenue for their own spending and it has caused deep, deep concern across the Vale.
I was therefore pleased to see that this week the local authority has taken the necessary step of listening to the community and re-appraising any introduction of car parking charges. At the time of going to press over 3,000 local residents have signed a petition against the introduction of car parking charges. Traders have been left anxious that the future of our most cherished high streets could be under threat, and I fully understand their concern.
I have yet to meet a small business owner in Barry and Cowbridge that is in favour of such punitive charges as they know how damaging such a blunt policy would be. Over 100 small business owners, supporting hundreds of jobs, got together to call on the council to go through a genuine consultation process.
Local residents, traders and small businesses, some operated by generations of families, are what make our communities so diverse. The damage that could be inflicted by introducing charges of up to £30 a week to park is simply unnecessary as it would only raise a tiny amount in comparison to what the Vale Council spends annually.
If you were to ask most businesses if they could save 0.1% per annum on costs they would seek more efficient ways of providing services to users. The same process happens in households on every street in the Vale.
The Vale Council could take the opportunity to reduce costs, do things differently rather than take the easy option of loading costs on to our communities. Local residents and traders have had to contend with inflation busting rises in council tax over recent years and I have been staggered by the strength of feeling on this issue.
The Council can now listen to the different ideas to solve any parking problems that may or may not exist. The people that live and work in and around car parks have some fantastic ideas. It is only right and fair that these are heard, considered and acted upon through a genuine consultation.
To their credit, local Councillors of all political persuasions on the Scrutiny Committee voted unanimously to ask the cabinet to reconsider and consult on such damaging proposals.
The main aim of car parking changes should be to encourage our towns to prosper and not interrupt the peaceful parking arrangements in residential streets. That is why I have called, in several columns in this newspaper, for the local authority to pause, listen and consult with the people that would have to live with such damaging parking charges. I am pleased that this is now happening.