Plea to return 'crucial' one-hour's free parking

COUNCIL VOTES TO CALL ON ITS LEADERS TO REVERSE POLICY

- By GARETH LIGHTFOOT Local democracy reporter

STOCKTON Council has voted unanimously to call on its leaders to reverse their own policy and bring back one hour's free parking on Yarm High Street.

The vote came after a petition from Stockton West Conservative MP Matt Vickers and impassioned pleas from businesspeople, who said the new charges were driving away customers and threatening their livelihoods.

One trader even announced the closure of their shop at the full council meeting on Wednesday.

The petition to “save Yarm’s free one-hour parking” containing about 3,400 signatures was submitted to the Labour-led council by Mr Vickers in March.

It came a month after the replacement of one hour's free parking with a £1.50 charge for three hours in Yarm and Stockton town centres.

Paddy Morton, manager of the 170-year-old Strickland & Holt family business on High Street and chair of Yarm Business Forum, presented the petition on behalf of Mr Vickers, and said almost all the street’s businesses had signed it.

He said: “The loss of the hour's free parking was the wrong decision and I think it certainly needs to be reviewed.”

He said the council’s current course of reviewing the charge within a year would be “too late for many businesses”.

He added: “In the current climate with cost increases and challenges on the high street, a decision like this could have a significant impact and needs looking at straight away.

“In Matt Vickers’ words, the high street needs extra support, not extra barriers for visitors.