Winchester City Council is consulting on radical plans to change visitor parking in the city centre. MP urges residents to have their say.
Winchester MP Steve Brine is urging his constituents in central Winchester to take part in a consultation being run by the city council on major changes to the way visitor parking permits are issued.
The consultation, which is only an informal process at this stage, is looking at what WCC say are “alleged abuse of permits” and is designed to “make the scheme better for residents without inconveniencing them and their visitors.” Proposals include;
- The use of ‘Visitor’ permits (annual permit) be phased out and replaced by the use of ‘scratchcards’ (daily permit).
- The number of ‘Residents’ permits permitted per dwelling be increased to compensate for a possible reduction in ‘visitor’ permits, thus allowing two permits in the Inner Zone and four permits in the Outer Zone.
- All ‘Residents’ permits issued will be vehicle-specific, to a vehicle used by a person residing within the relevant parking zone.
- ‘Residents’ permits will be allowed to show two different vehicle registration numbers used by persons residing at the same address.
- The maximum number of ‘Scratchcards’ issued annually to any one dwelling be increased from 20 to 100.
Steve Brine said; “I am not sure this one has been particularly well thought through by councillors, even at this stage of what we are told is an informal consultation process. A number of residents have contacted me as their local MP to complain they didn’t know about the proposals and once they found out what they contained, at the perceived problems they could present.
“I think concerns revolve around the problem of regular visitors such as family and especially carers and the inflexibility to recognise different households, for-instance shift workers at our hospital who rely a nanny to look after their children every day.
"I would urge all residents to take part in the consultation before February 14 and the City Council to take notice of what people have to say. I sincerely hope this is a genuine consultation and they will take on-board local feeling in a way that did not happen over the recent proposal to start Sunday charging in city centre car parks in Winchester."
More information ...
The proposed new residents scheme and the review was considered by the Winchester Town Forum on 26th January. You can view the minutes of this meeting via the Town Forum website here (opens as PDF in a new window).
You can take part in the consultation – which closes on February 14 – via this Survey Money link on the city council website.