THE INTRODUCTION of parking charges on Old Colwyn promenade have been branded a “revenue raising” measure which should be withdrawn.
Conwy Council plans to bring in charges for the promenade following an £18m transformation as part of sea defence work paid for with Welsh Government funding.
During a meeting on Thursday, Old Colwyn councillors David Carr, Cheryl Carlisle, Neil Coverley and Gail Jones all signed a call-in against the cabinet’s plans to introduce parking charges between 10am and 4pm.
At the meeting of the economy and overview and scrutiny committee, back bench councillors slammed the plans and claimed the council was attempting to raise revenue, with suggestions the additional income could help fund the authority’s huge social care bill.
But cabinet members defended the plans, claiming the money was needed to maintain the recently completed coastal works, which had been paid for with Welsh Government grant funds.
Councillors heard how the authority had received over 40 objection letters of over 100 pages.
Brian Cossey, the treasurer of the Old Colwyn Residents’ Association, criticised council officers at the meeting for not engaging with the group.
“We are at a loss really to understand why we couldn’t have had the usual face-to-face consultation that we’ve had in the past; perhaps it’s because we were told some time back that the Old Colwyn prom would not have charges put in place,” he said.
He then said Old Colwyn didn’t have any amenities, compared to other areas.
“We in Old Colwyn have none (amenities) whatsoever. We have no toilets, no kiosk, no games, virtually no seats, nothing at all, so what are people getting for their money? Nothing. Because it has nothing, it’s a promenade which is used by locals for exercise, and that, of course, is very much a tidal-based activity,” said Mr Cossey.
He then claimed it was not enough that the council had reduced the original parking charge of £5 to £2.50.
“I’m sure you’ve seen that it’s now going to be £2.50 for the first period, but even this is too much when all we’re getting is nothing, and the fact that it’s been reduced to £2.50 from £5 also proves to us that you haven’t got a policy,” he said.
“And then we see that Porth Eirias is going to be charged at £2.40, which does have amenities, but they’re going to be charged less than the people in Old Colwyn.
“We think that you need to have a rethink on the matter, go out to consultation again, write a policy, and not have charges in Old Colwyn because we have no amenities.”
Old Colwyn councillor Cheryl Carlisle agreed.
“The decision imposes parking charges in Old Colwyn when none existed before,” she said.
“The guidance from the Welsh Government emphasises managing parking to improve traffic flow and public transport whilst ensuring charges are proportionate and revenues are used for transport purposes.
“Responses received by the residents and councillors from officers and cabinet members fly in the face of the guidance from Welsh Government.
“Responses received give the reason that other local authorities have these charges, (but) the money will go to pay for social care, as it is a legitimate source of income for the council.”
She added: “This charge has nothing to do with managing parking but an attempt to get revenue.”
Cllr Gail Jones proposed the committee voted in favour of the call-in, reminding councillors that the council had controversially asked residents to withdraw objection letters in November.
“There has been no transparency – the public haven’t been informed of the guidelines issued by the Welsh Government on the introduction of parking charges where none previously existed,” she said.
“The cabinet member and the council staff who replied to residents and local councillors’ concerns have not properly engaged, citing reasons that have nothing to do with the traffic management and asking for rejections to be withdrawn.
“New parking charges on the Old Colwyn promenade may be subject to legal challenges. The strategy developed is not acceptable to local residents and is not consistent with the current statutory guidance.
“These changes should be withdrawn.”
Cllr Jones then said the charges would be discriminatory to disabled people and that “the fishing community” had previously been assured there would still be free parking before the coastal improvement works.
She added: “Residents are going to vote with their feet. They won’t pay it.”
Cllr David Carr added: “It looks as though this is just actually to make revenue for the council, and that’s not the purpose of parking charges, so it flies against the advice of Welsh Government.”
Cllr Carr added that residents had suffered great inconvenience when the sea defence work was carried out over two years, closing the road.
Cabinet member for infrastructure, transport and facilities Cllr Goronwy Edwards defended the parking charges.
“All these points have been made during the consultation period,” he said.
“In fact the consultation period has been extended to take into account their concerns, and concessions have been made as a result of those consultations to reduce parking at certain times of the year because of the reasons put forward.
“But as far as policy, Conwy Council parking strategy 2015, which was adopted by the council in 2016, makes specific reference for the need to create a controlled parking zone on the Old Colwyn promenade.”
He said the proposal was consistent with the “whole of the Bay of Colwyn and also North Shore, Llandudno, where the demand for parking is high during peak periods”, hence the decision to introduce parking charges on the coast.
He added: “Restrictions only apply as between 10am in the morning and 4pm in the afternoon, six hours a day, so at the end of those periods, it will be free for anyone to park there.”
Cllr Edwards said that not applying any charges at all would risk the area being overwhelmed with “stay visitors” parking to avoid charges on the rest of the promenade.
He added nearby residential roads would be monitored, due to the potential of the displacement of parking, adding five disabled spaces would allow free parking for blue badge holders.
“We’re not aware of any promises made or documented by the council officers that no parking charges would be introduced in the future,” he said.
Cllr Edwards added that a significant amount of investment had gone into the whole length of the Conwy coast, which would need to be maintained.
He added that accepting grant funding without having revenue in place to invest in the upkeep of the coast would “inevitably lead to difficulties later”.
“So there is a need to raise revenue to maintain the infrastructure along this coast,” said Cllr Edwards.
Cabinet member for a sustainable economy Cllr Nigel Smith added residents who wanted to park and watch the sea should have to pay.
He said: “So nobody likes to pay these charges, but if you are going to go and sit by the seaside and watch the sea and you want to go to Old Colwyn, well we’ve invested a lot of money with Welsh Government, improved the promenade, and it’s a great place, and unfortunately you have to pay for that, and I just don’t get what the issue is here.”
The committee voted in favour of backing the call-in, and the matter will now go back to cabinet who have been encouraged to consult further with Old Colwyn councillors.
