A community campaigner has called for a review of Southport’s on-street parking charges in a bid to boost the town as a retail and tourism destination.
During his four years as a councillor on Sefton Council, David Barton negotiated a series of improvements to car parking facilities, including the removal of restrictions in some areas and the clearer marking of existing restrictions in others.
He has now called for free car parking wherever possible both in the town centre and residential areas, subsidised by the local authority.
He said that the policy to introduce on-street charges in the 1990s was short-sighted and aimed at making money out of motorists, with the costs of installed signs and machines at the time approaching £750,000.
He said the signage also had a negative effect on the appearance of the town, especially on Conservation Areas.
Tariffs originally ranged from 30p/50p to £1.00 but over the years they have risen to £1.50 for up to an hour and £5 for up to four hours.
The decision was taken by the joint Labour/LibDem controlled council, with Conservatives opposed to the idea, predicting it would be damaging to business.
Mr Barton, who lives in Dukes Ward, said the introduction of on street car parking charges in town centre was based on schemes in Eastbourne and Birmingham as an income opportunity for the Council.
He said: “Following previous requests for clearer line markings to prevent residents, especially contractors and businesses, being wrongly penalised I am grateful that this has been achieved at various locations, such as Lord Street, the Promenade and Mornington Road.
“But we now need to go another step further and give people a greaterincentive to visit the town centre.
“Parking charges were introduced for no other reason than to make money for Sefton Council, but a vibrant town centre would do so much to bring much-needed revenue into the local economy.
“Those parties such as the LibDems, who shout about how much they care about Southport’s businesses and shops should look back in history to see that their support for parking charges did so much to send the town centre into a downward spiral.”
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