Sunday parking charges in Harrogate to go ahead despite residents' outrage

North Yorkshire County Council today gave the go-ahead for the introduction of on-street pay and display parking charges in the town on Sundays between 10am and 6pm.

The charges will be introduced in as soon as two months’ time.

However, a proposal to also introduce evening charges on weekdays has been shelved for the time being.

The council announced plans last May to bring in Sunday charges, a move which sparked a huge public backlash.

Campaigners, fearful that charging people to park would put them off visiting the town altogether, set up petitions backed by thousands.

But a councillor said today there was no “conclusive evidence” that reasonable parking charges had a negative impact on town centre economies.

A review by council officers concluded that cars were staying in street bays for longer than the weekday limit, and that off-street car parks had capacity to accommodate more vehicles throughout the day.

The council said in a statement: “The evidence supports the need to encourage those wanting to park for longer to use off-street car parks, which reduces congestion, and to encourage a turnover of premium on-street parking spaces to ensure these spaces are available for short stay shoppers and visitors.”

It adds: “Ensuring a balance between on-street and off-street charging, and that on-street charges are higher than off-street charges, can achieve this.”

County Coun Don Mackenzie, North Yorkshire’s executive member for highways, said: “In the time since we published our original proposals, more than a year ago, we made every effort to engage people and listen to what they had to say.

“In response to the points raised, we gathered further evidence, which I believe provides a sound justification for the decision on Sunday charging.”

He added: “I realise some people believe these charges will have a detrimental impact on Harrogate, but I am not aware of any conclusive evidence that reasonable parking charges have a negative impact on town centre economies.

“I believe introducing charges and encouraging more rapid turnover or premium parking spaces on-street on Sundays will be good for businesses, because at the moment on Sundays those streets are fully parked up, people have no incentive to move on and many people are simply parking for convenience and are not going into shops, restaurants or pubs to support our economy.”

Harrogate, whose town centre was for many years a free ‘Disc’ zone, has already seen the introduction of new on-street ticket machines which accept cash and cards.

Earlier in the week, campaigner and petition founder Mike Pywell said just six per cent of respondents to the council’s own consultation were in favour of the change.

He said the council saw Harrogate as a golden goose”, adding, “This is a classic case of the county council is not listening.”