Parking review - Fury as Rother plans to charge more for parking

Rother District Council, which runs the town’s Mount Street and Market Square car parks, has proposed a raft of changes to car parks across the district in the hope of raising an extra £60,000 a year for the council’s coffers.

A parking review has resulted in a number of recommendations, including the abolition of free overnight parking and axing the one hour parking bracket, meaning car park users must pay for at least 1-2 hours.

Free Christmas parking could also be rescinded.

Speaking at a Battle Town Council meeting this week, Cllr Richard Jessop said: “Yet again Battle is going to be stuffed for being in a rural community where people will have to pay an increased amount when they often have to come in for less than an hour.

“That’s disgraceful.

“They are penalising Battle and the shops.”

District councillor for Crowhurst, Cllr Angharad Davies, said she is planning to object to the plans when they are discussed by Rother at a meeting on Monday.

“She said: “They (Rother) have set this sum of money they want to raise out of car parking.

“I do not think that is the right way to do it.”

Town council chairman Cllr Ron Harris said: “I am at a loss to know what can be done about it apart from writing and expressing our views through our district councillors.”

Cllr David Hussey said: “We should take over car parks under devolution, irrespective of the costs, and sort it out afterwards.”

Battle district councillor Kathryn Field said the review also failed to consider the rural villages.

She said: “Not all of the car parks in the rural areas operate in the same way.

“This review does not seem to have taken into account the views of individual communities.”