Car park charges in Burnham-On-Sea and Highbridge have risen by 10 per cent this week as Sedgemoor District Council introduces new higher rates.
In a bid to gain an extra £90,000 of revenue, Sedgemoor’s Executive voted through a package of measures which will raise car parking charges across the Burnham and Highbridge area by 10 per cent and standardize the daily charges across the district to £5.
District Council spokeswoman Claire Faun told Burnham-On-Sea.com: “Car parks cost money to run; they are not just about charging for tickets. SDC, like everyone else, is not immune to rising costs. The pressures on local government finances is increasing all the time and income from car parks helps keeps council tax rises as low as possible for Sedgemoor residents.”
“Sedgemoor District Council’s Parking Service provides parking facilities for residents, visitors, businesses and shoppers across the district.”
“Clean, tidy and well maintained car parks give a good first impression for visitors and tourists to Sedgemoor.”
“The cost of parking tickets covers a whole range of expenditure that may not be immediately obvious. These include rates – yes, SDC does have to pay rates on property it owns; patrolling and cash collection from ticket machines – contracted to Somerset County Council; CCTV; cleaning; looking after the shrubbery etc; repairs and maintenance to the tarmac; white-lining; maintenance/replacement of ticket machines; upgrade software costs where there is a change in tariff; insurance and electricity costs for the lighting.”
Council Leader Duncan McGinty said: “We haven’t raised charges for four years and compared to other districts in Somerset we are woefully below in comparison. We’ve undertaken a consultation and whilst you’d expect raising charges to be unpopular nevertheless some people were in favour. As unpopular a measure as this may seem I am reasonably comfortable with it.”
