INCREASED parking charges in Stratford are up for discussion.
Residents can have their say on Stratford District Council’s proposals to introduce a charge at the free Fisherman’s car park, off Warwick Road, and to increase tariffs at some leisure centre car parks.
The proposals include an increase to overnight charges at Stratford Leisure Centre from £2 to £20 for motorhomes, a new two-hour maximum stay at the Greig and Shipston leisure centres to eliminate the misuse of the car parks, and a reduced maximum stay for permit holders at Stratford Leisure Centre from four hours to three hours.
District councillor Ian Shenton said: “Our car park charges haven’t been reviewed for several years and as a council we are considering a number of options due to the rising costs of operating and maintaining car parks.
“Car parking is important to many of us and often a topic of great debate and I look forward to hearing a wide range of views.”
The district council is also writing to come 2,000 permit holders over its plans to scrap £10 annual permits for those over 65 in the town. An outcry over initial plans prompted the council to instead increase the permit cost to £25. But, in a second U-turn, the authority has returned to its original plans after it claimed it is facing a £4million budget deficit.
Visit www.stratford.gov.uk/parking-consultation to comment on the plans or email [email protected] before March 26.
