New Parking Charges "Wrong"

Car parking charges are to rise steeply in Tunbridge Wells from the start of October.

The Conservatives have condemned the increases, arguing that hiking charges well above inflation is wrong.

The Liberal Democrats who run the Tunbridge Wells Borough Council say they’ve been spending heavily on improving the town’s car parks and people who use them need to contribute more.

The biggest rise will be at the Torrington Car Park in Vale Road, where an hour’s parking charge is set to jump from 80p to £2.30.

The hikes come in on October 1st.

One hour’s parking at Royal Victoria Place will increase from £2 to £2.30. That’s a 15% rise.

£9 million has just been spent on the RVP car park, which had been partially closed on safety grounds.

The cost for 4 hours of parking will rise from £5 to  £ 5.70.  That’s a 14% increase.

The same rates apply at Crescent Road, Great Hall, Meadow Road and The Pantiles car parks.

The Borough Council took full control of the the town’s main shopping centre, Royal Victoria Place, two years ago.  That investment was supported by all political parties.

But the Conservative Borough Councillor, Tom Mobbs, (pictured below) told West Kent Radio that town centre shopping would not be revived if there was no incentive to go there.

Tom Mobbs of the Conservatives said: "This is not the approach we should be taking...Hiking car parking charges way above inflation is wrong."

He said he was a fan of free parking and said he welcomed the maintenance of initial free parking periods at Paddock Wood and Yew Tree Road in Southborough.

Listen here to Tom Mobbs:

The High Brooms Industrial Estate lures plenty of shoppers where four hours of parking is free.

The Liberal Democrats told West Kent Radio that they’d inherited a significant backlog of poor maintenance across the town centre car parks and a comprehensive repair and upgrade program was now addressing that.

The Liberal Democrat statement continued:

"A total of £9 million is being invested in the Royal Victoria Place car park alone, with additional maintenance scheduled for both the Great Hall and Torrington Road car parks.

"Last year, we implemented a freeze on parking increases. This year, parking tariffs in most car parks have been adjusted to align with rising costs.

"The exception is the Torrington Road car park, where charges were previously much lower. This low cost created an issue where the car park became a focus for commuters and visitors, which caused congestion and left local residents unable to park. The rates have now been equalized with other town centre car parks to resolve this issue and ensure fair access for everyone."

The statement ended: "We are committed to providing safe and well-maintained parking facilities for our residents and visitors".