Local Councillor Slams new Parking Meters in Letter to Mid Sussex Times

10.54.00am BST (GMT +0100) Mon 2nd Jun 2008

Burgess Hill Town Councillor Simon Hicks has sent the following letter to the Mid Sussex Times in regards the new parking meters installed by Mid Sussex District Council at Council parking areas in the district:

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Dear Sir

 The health of our town centres is vital to the areas future, small shops paying high rates are having to complete with out of town retailers like Tesco who can offer free parking. At the same time as Cllr Wall is determined for the council to continue discouraging shoppers with the new parking meters, its no coincidence that long standing retailers such as Round Sounds in Burgess Hill are closing.

The council seems to have acted without any consultation and slapped on a new parking system that is almost designed to put off shoppers and drive people to Crawley or Brighton where they don't have such complicated parking. Now Mr Wall adds insult to injury by calling a moratorium on installing the new machines elsewhere in the district but refusing to reprogramme existing meters so carparkers no longer have to give their registration numbers.

What is the loss due to "fraud" that Cllr Wall seems to think is so important, if all he is talking about is the potential for car drivers to transfer tickets on occasion, then the actual amount involved must be a tiny percentage of the income. This must be more than counter balanced by the inability of the parking machines to give change.

Why couldn't we have parking meters that promote our town centre, that allows people to linger at their shopping and pay when they choose to leave rather than when they arrive, and that give change. This is another fine mess our Conservative council has got us in.

Simon Hicks                                                                                                    

 Town Councillor (Burgess Hill - Leylands Ward)

Tel: 01444 245059    24 Dumbrills Close, Burgess Hill, West Sussex RH15 8RR    

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Serena Tierney, Lib Dems Parliamentary Candidate for Mid Sussex commented on the letter:

" If you are concerned about the introduction of the new parking meters in Haywards Heath and Burgess Hill, log on to www.ipetitions.com/petition/midsussexparking and sign the petition. I have already done so.

The time taken to use the new machines together with the continuing inability to give change will have an adverse effect on shopping in our towns. This will hit the local independent businesses hardest and at a time when they can least afford any additional drop in trade. It is totally inconsistent with encouraging visitors into our towns. The cost of c£150K will take 10 years to recover on the basis of the 'fraudulent' ticket sharing that MSDC uses to justify it. There does not seem to be a single positive result for local people from this latest pet money-wasting project of those who run our council."