Cllr Duncan Crow: Welcoming West Sussex County Council freezing parking charges

Some other political parties are so overzealous in their dislike of people using their cars, that they can proactively make it difficult and expensive for people to drive and park in town centres, in the mistaken belief that hundreds of people will switch to cycling or get a bus. More widely, while I’m all for making cycling and public transport good viable options for people to use, I oppose left-wing punitive measures against motorists. These measures don’t change behaviours but can create resentment and opposition to other modes of transport. The Labour Mayor of London’s ULEZ is a prime example.

Parking charges are often mentioned as not helping town centres thrive. Many town centres like Crawley have a mixture of car park ownership, with both council owned and private operator owned. Where local authorities have car parks and/or on-street parking meters, these provide valuable income for local council services, so it is a difficult juggling act when councils do want to support motorists and local economies.

Inflation has crept up since Labour came to power in July and tax rises are highly likely to feature in Labour’s budget on 30 October. Energy bills rise by 10% on 1st October and ten million pensioners have lost their winter fuel allowance.

Every little helps, so I am very pleased that the Conservative administration at West Sussex County Council has decided to freeze parking charges for a year, which would have otherwise risen this October by last December’s retail price index, which was 5.2%. In Crawley, this means all the controlled parking zones for residents in West Green, Northgate, Southgate, Three Bridges and Pound Hill, as well as the on-street parking meters in and near the town centre and the car park at Crawley Library.