County Council Wants Surrey-wide Control of Parking

Epsom's Lib Dem councillors are asking residents to comment on Surrey County Council's proposals for on-street parking across the whole of Surrey. The consultation ends on 9th November.

A document entitled Parking Strategy is part of a wider-ranging Local Transport Plan and is available online for comment. Within the County's parking strategy are proposals for residents parking permits at £50 for the first car, areas of "curfew" parking where restrictions operate for just a couple of hours to deter commuters and charging for short-term parking outside shops.

Lib Dem County Councillor Colin Taylor says "The proposals as a whole will be good news for those local residents who are desperate for a residents parking scheme, but some of the details needs adjusting. We do need all-day parking restrictions in areas close to the town centre where shoppers take up any empty spaces, but around the other railway stations curfew parking for just a couple of hours can deal with the long-stay commuters whose cars now clog the streets, leaving them available for residents and their visitors' for the rest of the day."

He added "A £50 charge is an extraordinary increase compared with the £5 permit schemes in the original three controlled parking zones set up in Epsom in the 1990s and never reviewed in line with inflation, but we are insisting that any new parking charges are only to cover the costs of enforcement and administration and there is no element of profit made from them."

Town ward Councillor Alison Kelly, whose area has major parking problems because of long-stay commuters, says "I do urge residents to comment on these proposals. The £50 charge has already been fixed, but are the Visitor Permit arrangements satisfactory, should some existing yellow-lined areas be returned to residents as part of a permit scheme, etc. I'd be happy to submit comments on behalf of local residents if they want to let me have their views".

The Parking Strategy document is available on Surrey CC website on the Local Transport Plan consultation page - see the first Related Link below.

A special edition of Focus, delivered in roads affected by commuter parking, is available on line using the second Related Link below.

Related Links

• Parking Strategy - Surrey County Council consultation
• Parking Strategy - FOCUS special edition.