Rother car parks set to go card payment only

On Monday (October 9), Rother District Council’s cabinet is set to decide whether to move ahead with plans to remove the coin payment option from its pay and display machines.

If approved, car park customers would still be able to pay by card at the machine or use the RingGo service (which takes payment online and by phone). These options are already in place and are used more frequently than cash payments .

Customers would still have the option to pay with cash, but would have to use a PayPoint service to do so.

The move comes as the council’s contract with a firm which collects the coins from the machines is set to expire next year. This contract currently costs the council £30,000 a year, but would be expected to increase in price should it be renewed.

Officers say the change would also help the council reduce its carbon footprint by approximately 5-6 tonnes of CO2 per year, as cash is currently collected from the machines three times a week.

Rother District Council runs 24 pay and display car parks within its borders. Of these, 17 currently have pay and display machines which can take cash payments.

While not recommended, officers have put forward two alternative options for cabinet members to consider.

The first would be to keep things as they are, but officers say this would neither achieve savings nor reduce carbon emissions. The cash collection contract would also need to be renewed, likely costing more than the existing £30,000 figure.

The other alternative would be to maintain coin payments at the three car parks which account for the majority of cash transactions. These would be the De La Warr car park in Bexill and the Mount Street and Upper Market car parks in Battle.

Officers say this would not be their preferred option, however, as it would still require a new cash collection contract to be signed.

If agreed the change, would be expected to come into force in March.