Council Abandons Ely Car Park Charge Proposals

East Cambridgeshire District Council and Ely City Council have issued a joint statement, climbing down from proposals to introduce car parking charges to Ely.

The below statement has been issued by Councillor Peter Moakes of East Cambridgeshire District Council and Councillor Will Burton at the City of Ely Council…

"Last year, the District and City Council jointly proposed a new car parking scheme for Ely which we believed was a fair and straight forward plan. It was designed to give users of our car parks a free first hour of parking followed by very low hourly rates with a heavily reduced ticket for those looking to park over a week.

"These plans were put out to consultation to give residents, workers and visitors to Ely the chance to have their say on our ideas. Our aim throughout this process was to be open, honest and transparent. While some derided the questions we asked, we saw the process as an extremely important part of the process.

"Reading the feedback we have received and listening carefully to the responses we have had, it is clear the introduction of car parking charges in Ely has become more contentious than ever before. It has become an issue which is diverting all of us from our main focus of delivering quality services for our residents.

"For this reason, we have decided not to progress with the implementation of car parking charges in Ely. We feel, due to a culmination of factors, now is simply the wrong time to introduce a scheme.

"As Ely grows there will no doubt be further challenges to city's infrastructure as our population and traffic increase but throughout the remaining term of this administration, we will not consider the introduction of off street car parking charges as a solution.

"It should be noted the aim of our scheme was to control the demand for parking spaces in Ely. With the end of our proposals, the issues of managing a high demand for a limited number of spaces still remain and money which could have been invested in city centre initiatives from any surplus will no longer be possible.

"Clearly this decision will also have an impact on the District Council's budget, which we will need to address over the forthcoming months to ensure we can deliver a balanced budget.

"Our focus, as always, will be on helping to deliver growth and employment in the local economy as well as providing the best services for our residents. It is the time to work together with businesses, communities and our partners to drive forward with projects which will have a lasting positive legacy for Ely and tackling the challenges which bring us success."