AN increase in charges across South Lakeland District Council car parks has driven motorists on to the streets to avoid payment, it has been claimed.

Coun Phil Lister attacked the recently-introduced charges' hike which will bring in an extra £403,000 every year to SLDC.

Coun Lister said the introduction of fees had done nothing to "alleviate" but much to "exacerbate" parking problems in South Lakeland, particularly in Ulverston.

He explained that to park for an hour in Ulverston on an SLDC car park had gone up from 30p to 60p and, within days of the rise, motorists had begun "cruising around looking for a gap anywhere rather than pay."

As a consequence, home owners were being squeezed out of their parking places which caused problems for young mothers with children.

"The increase in car parking fees has caused an immense amount of difficulty in the centre of Ulverston," Coun Lister told fellow members.

"People are sick to death of paying more charges and are now parking outside residents' homes."

The issue was raised as Bob Barker, the portfolio holder for planning, presented his report to the annual meeting of SLDC.

Coun Barker referred to the new tariffs being introduced and added: "These seem to be accepted by most users. Our car parks have been relatively full throughout April."

In response to criticisms, Coun Barker said for some time Ulverston had been in a "very privileged" position in the cost of parking compared to other areas in the district.

Of calls for named car park permits, rather than more expensive ones which allow holders to leave their cars at a variety of SLDC-run car parks, Coun Barker suggested councillors raise the subject at the appropriate committee.

The issue of residents' parking was raised and Coun Barker warned that councillors be aware that if such schemes were introduced, it would mean moving the problem on.

"Any decision made has a knock-on effect in other areas, such as Fellside for example. That's having a knock-on effect on the trade within the town of Kendal," said Coun Barker.

Coun Barclay Stainton stressed that residents wanted to buy named car parking permits which allowed them to use a specific car park, rather than multi-use and that the issue had dragged on for four years.

"It's a very simple thing. Can I buy a permit for X? And if I then go and use the permit on a different car park, I get fined," said Coun Stainton.

Coun Jennifer Borer said the issue was still going through the scrutiny process and results were anticipated sooner rather than later.

The decision to increase tariffs was made in December but not introduced until April.

The council said the decision was due to a poor grant settlement from the Government.

May 30, 2003 11:30