Executive discuss making Wokingham on-street parking permits fair!
Residents in the Wokingham Borough who pay various levies for on-street parking permits could see the system reformed to ensure it’s fair for all.
Wokingham Borough Council’s decision making executive is due to discuss four options at its meeting on Thursday June 26, which will strive to make parking permit charges fair and equal to all the borough’s residents, while keeping permits free for all pensioners and elderly people that qualify.
The review seeks to make this service totally self-funding compared to at present, where it is heavily subsidised.
The first Wokingham permit schemes were introduced into the borough in 1977 with new schemes being added, in an ad hoc fashion, right up to the present day. None of the schemes have ever been reviewed since they were brought in, and so residents who need an on-street permit to park their vehicle are faced with a charge dependent on what year the scheme in their road started.
Currently there are 17 on-street resident parking schemes operating in the borough, providing approximately 550 permits – but while some people pay £5 for an annual permit others pay £10. Schemes do not take into account location or demand for space, as charges are based on when the scheme was introduced.
Additionally, despite rising costs for administering the permit scheme, the costs of a permit have not changed at all to reflect this. This means Wokingham council collects £2,700 per year from permit fees but it costs £13,000 to run the service. Ultimately this means all council taxpayers subsidise the scheme by more than £10,000 each year, which is unfair on those residents who do not have a parking permit but are being charged for a service they do not use.
The executive is being recommended by Wokingham officers to adopt Option B from a report that sets out four possible choices to redress the situation, to make it consistent for all residents who need a permit and remove the burden on the remainder of the borough’s taxpayers.
Option B suggests making a flat charge of £30 per annum for on-street parking permits in all areas.
Wokingham Borough Council’s decision making executive is due to discuss four options at its meeting on Thursday June 26, which will strive to make parking permit charges fair and equal to all the borough’s residents, while keeping permits free for all pensioners and elderly people that qualify.
The review seeks to make this service totally self-funding compared to at present, where it is heavily subsidised.
The first Wokingham permit schemes were introduced into the borough in 1977 with new schemes being added, in an ad hoc fashion, right up to the present day. None of the schemes have ever been reviewed since they were brought in, and so residents who need an on-street permit to park their vehicle are faced with a charge dependent on what year the scheme in their road started.
Currently there are 17 on-street resident parking schemes operating in the borough, providing approximately 550 permits – but while some people pay £5 for an annual permit others pay £10. Schemes do not take into account location or demand for space, as charges are based on when the scheme was introduced.
Additionally, despite rising costs for administering the permit scheme, the costs of a permit have not changed at all to reflect this. This means Wokingham council collects £2,700 per year from permit fees but it costs £13,000 to run the service. Ultimately this means all council taxpayers subsidise the scheme by more than £10,000 each year, which is unfair on those residents who do not have a parking permit but are being charged for a service they do not use.
The executive is being recommended by Wokingham officers to adopt Option B from a report that sets out four possible choices to redress the situation, to make it consistent for all residents who need a permit and remove the burden on the remainder of the borough’s taxpayers.
Option B suggests making a flat charge of £30 per annum for on-street parking permits in all areas.
This will also bring the Wokingham Borough’s charges in line with other local authorities in the area, which can be up to £25 for the first permit issued to £55 for the second permit, or even a flat rate of £65, depending on the council.
The executive will also explore alternative options including:
· Option A - increasing the annual permit fee to £25 per permit
· Option C – increasing the annual permit fee to £50 per permit
· Option D – increasing the annual permit fee to £70 per permit.
All options retain the existing system of providing pensioners and disabled people with free on-street parking permits.
Wokingham Borough Council
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