Government legislation means Belper Town Council now has to pay around £25,000 per year in business rates to Amber Valley Borough Council for the Coppice Car Park behind the Market Place.
The Town Council is currently gathering information on this matter, which includes discussing with Amber Valley Borough Council how parking charges might work and what it would cost to implement.
Belper Independents put forward a proposal to stop these talks but Green councillors voted to continue. This is because we believe it’s such an important decision that we should take time to gather all the information we can to make the best decision for the town.
Town Councillor Julie Wozniczka says: “There are strong arguments on both sides."
“On the one hand, if we keep the car park free and the Town Council finds the £25,000 from Belper people's Council Tax then everyone is paying whether they use the car park or not, and the money won’t be available to spend on other valuable projects."
“On the other hand, are parking charges fair to workers and rail commuters who use the car park frequently, and to those who may not have any other way of getting into Belper? Would parking charges have a negative effect on town centre businesses and surrounding streets?”
Nobody cares more about Belper Town Centre than the Greens. Those of you with long memories will remember that Green Councillor Julie Wozniczka and former Councillor Dave Wells were central to the campaign to save the town from a huge Tesco superstore which threatened to kill off the town centre. It took years of hard work and perseverance but we did it and this is a big reason why Belper is such a thriving town today.
Free parking at the Coppice car park is not under immediate threat and you don't make the best decisions by voting to stop talking about it. Greens are genuinely open-minded on this issue so we voted to keep the conversation open for now.
What do you think? Should the car park remain free or should charges be introduced?
