Town councillors unanimously voted against “ludicrous” plans to introduce free parking in a Wiltshire town centre amidst overwhelming opposition.
The plans, which were scrapped at a full council meeting on Wednesday, September 26, could have seen free parking introduced at Wiltshire Council’s car parks in Chippenham.
This would have been funded by a council tax rise equal to £40.28 for an average Band D household, or two hours for £48.94.
At the meeting, town councillors revealed they had received a “deluge” of emails and phone calls objecting to these plans since they were unveiled.
Cllr Pete Cousins said: “To date, I’ve not received more comments on any council matter… and all of these many comments were against the motion.
“I’m yet to hear any resident in favour of the proposal.”
READ MORE: Chippenham free parking plans split residents in row
Multiple residents spoke or had comments read out at the meeting objecting to the plans, with some even suggesting they would consider boycotting council tax if the scheme went ahead.
Residents argued that a blanket council tax rise, when many people would not use the car parks, was “unfair”.
Cllr Declan Basely added: “Simply put, it’s not fair on our residents who walk, wheel, or cycle into town to ask them to subsidise motorists.
“We should be working to transition away from a car-centric society anyway and encourage more use of walking, cycling, or public transport.”
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Cllr Jenny Budgell felt parking was an important issue, but that the motion had not been thought through.
She said: “This almost sounds like a joke, if it’s a motion that’s come through and hasn’t been thought through it’s ludicrous, it’s a waste of time that we could be using to better serve the people of Chippenham.
“Hopefully we can knock this motion on the head as soon as possible, it’s not a good use of time and it makes us look like a laughing stock to be frank.”
SEE ALSO: Plans for Chippenham free parking scheme to be debated
While Cllr David Poole voted against the plans because of their “ridiculous” cost, he explained he was glad they had been put forward to allow residents to have their say.
He added: “This is something that has been discussed by the people of Chippenham for many years.
“I don’t support subsidising the parking whatsoever, but I think it’s high time we debated this.
“We’ve got an opportunity to air our views, get it out into the open, and if we vote against the motion so be it.”
The motion was initially authored by both Cllr Nic Puntis and Cllr Robert Giles.
While Cllr Puntis was excused due to a pecuniary interest, Cllr Giles voted against his own motion because of the overwhelming objections he had received from residents.
He added: “I will also vote against it because I’ve taken into account all the emails and telephone calls I’ve had.
“That’s why it was out there in the first place, to have a proper discussion.”
A second motion, for a full consultation on the idea of free parking, was also tabled by Cllr Liz Alstrom in response to the original motion.
Explaining the proposal, she said: “I felt the matter needed to be raised again so we can properly review the different options and give the whole community the opportunity to have their say.”
This motion was also rejected as councillors felt the huge negative response they had received from residents in the last week made it clear there was limited support for the idea of subsidised parking.
Cllr Matthew Short said: “It would be a waste of taxpayer’s money to pay consultants to undertake a parking survey when we already know what the results would be.”
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