Call to End Weekend Parking Charges at Haverfordwest’s County Hall

A call to end recently-introduced weekend parking charges at Haverfordwest’s County Hall is to be heard later this week.
A Notice of Motion ‘Relating to Assessment of Car Parking Charges at County Hall, Haverfordwest,’ submitted by Haverfordwest councillor John Cole will be heard at the December 14 meeting of full council.
In February, the county council’s Cabinet backed the introduction of charges at the car park, on the edge of Haverfordwest’s town centre, during a wider item on short-stay parking in the county.
Cllr Cole’s notice asks: “That the council undertake a full assessment of how parking charges introduced at County Hall have impacted the businesses in and around the town.
“That council reverses the decision to charge a fee in respect of parking at County Hall on the Saturday and Sunday periods.”
His notice adds: “Current charges mean residents and visitors are restricted by the hours purchased, as to the amount of time they spend in the town, thereby surely having a detrimental effect on businesses that rely on such custom.”
At the October meeting of full council, Cllr Cole had asked for information on revenue received since the charges were introduced, and asked if there was any assessment on the impact to businesses following the introduction of charges at the car park.
At that meeting, Cabinet Member for Residents’ Services Cllr Rhys Sinnett said £7,028 had been raised from May 5-October 2, from 4,100 parking transactions.
He told members he did not have usage figures pre-charging so was not able to provide comparative figures.
Welsh government research, assessing the impact of car parking charges, found the general availability of spaces was felt to be more important than cost in shoppers’ or visitors’ decisions in visiting towns, Cllr Sinnett told councillors. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​