Is night tax parking fee on the way for Camden?
Thursday, 15th December 2011
Published: 15 December 2011
by RICHARD OSLEY
MOTORISTS have been put on alert that the Town Hall could follow the example of neighbouring Westminster and start charging for evening and Sunday car parking.
Asked to rule out the move, Labour’s environment chief Councillor Sue Vincent told a cabinet meeting: “I can’t give any guarantees.
I don’t yet know what the impact in the south of the borough is going to be when Westminster starts its new policy.”
Camden’s senior councillors are well aware they will face fury if they decide to copy Westminster’s move to start charging from January 9.
They say they are opposed to the charges but have to be open to the option of matching whatever Westminster does.
Politicians on the other side of the borough boundary will attest that it is not a policy for the fainthearted.
The issue has led to sharp criticism from businesses, theatres, and motorists, and at times has split opinion inside the ruling Conservative group amid complaints that it risks being a heavy vote loser.
Last night there was talk of Westminster cancelling or at least postponing the charges until after the Olympics.
There is a feeling among some members of Camden’s Labour group that it is only fair that the council looks at fighting fire with fire, rather than simply providing spaces for drivers priced out of Westminster.
Motorcyclists parking in Camden are not guaranteed an escape from new fees either. The Town Hall says it will examine whether – just like in Westminster – people should pay to park motorbikes for the first time.
Again, on that issue, councillors in Westminster faced some of the most vociferous complaints of recent years when they pushed ahead with motorcycle parking charges.
Cllr Vincent told the meeting last Wednesday that Westminster’s policies had caused “parking stress in the south of the borough and we have to look and see if we want to go down that route”.
Camden, wary of what has gone on in Westminster, is launching a consultation survey and councillors insist no decision has been made about what direction to take.
They are questioning the wisdom of Westminster’s policy with new studies suggesting the West End could lose £800million worth of business to a charge branded a “night-life tax” by opponents. Cllr Vincent said the economic “vitality” of the areas involved was at risk.
But, by the same token, councillors are not ruling out some of the policies that have proved most unpopular.
The main battleground is potentially southern wards such as Bloomsbury and Holborn, and Covent Garden, where if Camden stepped away from introducing charges, drivers looking for spaces could zone in on to avoid paying in Westminster.
Cllr Vincent said Camden’s policies “don’t get headlines like Westminster” because of the quality of its consultations with residents and businesses.
Conservative councillor Don Williams said he did not think Westminster or Camden should be charging.
“Here is Camden criticising Westminster like crazy when at the same time it is looking at doing the same thing,” he added. “We should not be imposing more charges on people when times are already difficult. This risks damaging the economy.
“I used to be chair of licensing and I know how businesses will be affected. We need to cool down a bit, we should be giving residents a break, not making their lives harder.”
