One pound for one hour parking at all Powys car parks rejected by councillors.

Newtown county councillor, Pete Lewington’s request to reduce the charge for up to one hour parking in both short stay and long stay car parks to just £1 with effect from 1st November 2023 was rejected today by Powys County Council.

An amendment put forward by the Liberal Democrats asking the council to hold off on any change in car parking charges was approved and the matter will now be referred to a working group.

Newtown West Conservative Councillor Pete Lewington said:

“I cannot believe the short sightedness of the council – we are here to serve our communities and respond to their needs. Our residents and businesses have asked for our help which they need now."

"They cannot be made to wait for the outcome of any proposed car park review as clearly our residents cannot afford to pay these higher charges as evidenced by nearly an 8% fall in ticket sales as of 31st July with the resulting decline in footfall impacting our town centres."

”This council should have shown our residents and businesses that we do listen and agreed to the new charge – instead all we get from them is the tired mantra that “we listen to our communities” but they have wasted an opportunity to prove it. We have all had enough of these hollow words and broken promises”

Ysir with Honddu Isaf & Llanddew Conservative Councillor Iain McIntosh added:

"I am really disappointed to see the majority of County Councillors voting against reducing Powys car park ticket prices back to the level before the last price hike. Up and down Powys, small businesses are struggling to attract customers enough as it is, increased car park ticket prices is just another reason for shoppers to stay away. I have been asking Powys County Council to review their car parking strategy for over 6 years, and while I welcome the suggestion they will finally set up a working group, any changes that come out of it are unlikely to be implemented for several months."

"In the meantime, as confirmed today by Cabinet members, they are content to continue over charging Powys residents to make more money to subsidise underfunded or underperforming services elsewhere in the authority. Our residents, businesses, shoppers and tourists deserve better than this."