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Over £400,000 was made on parking tickets in the Broxtowe borough last year and locals said the figure was ‘shocking’ and made them feel ‘pig sick’.
Nottinghamshire County Council issued more than 7,000 on and off-street parking tickets to drivers throughout the year adding a whopping £424,000 to its coffers.
Wally Shaw who lives in Eastwood called the revelation ‘shocking’ and said if the tickets generated so much cash, charges should be scrapped at least once or twice a week to encourage shoppers into the town.
“It’s a hell of a lot of money. I think it’s shocking.
“Making that much money they could at the very least knock the charges off one or two days a week. It might encourage more people here to shop.”
The Mayor of Eastwood, Brian Griffin, agreed, blaming car parking restrictions on the dire state of the town’s trade.
He said the reason why so much money was made from parking tickets was because drivers were not given long enough to shop, and called for the half hour restriction in the town centre to be increased to an hour to boost trade.
Cllr Griffin said the amount the council made on tickets made him ‘pig sick’ knowing it was these tight restrictions on parking that was causing his town go to the dogs.
“It absolutely amazes me that it’s that amount of money,” he said.
“I have heard many reasons why people think Eastwood and Kimberley are going to the dogs. They need to look at car parking charges and enformcement.
“I know for a fact that’s it’s having a detrimental impact on Eastwood.
“You could sell an umbrella for a third of the normal price in this town – but it wouldn’t matter because people are frightened to death to park here.”
The town Mayor said one woman in Alfreton used to spend £600 a week at a butchers in Eastwood, but stopped coming when car parking charges were enforced at The Hollies and she got a ticket.
“She used to come on a Tuesday and Saturday with two big orders for about ten or 15 people in her street but she got a ticket and said ‘forget it, I’ll got to Underwood’. And that took about £600 a week out of the business.”
Monies made from the tickets pays for the enforcement services, and any left over goes towards county-wide transport issues.
But locals said this was wrong and the money should go back into the area where it was taken from.
The county council issued 4,090 on street tickets with a value of £264,760, and 3,092 off-street parking tickets with a value of £158,960.
A spokesperson for the county council said: “The Nottinghamshire Parking Partnership operates parking enforcement in partnership with the seven district borough councils. The partnership works efficiently to ensure town centres are free of illegally parked vehicles that can cause congestion, inconvenience and jeopardise road safety for all road users.”
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Weather for Eastwood
Thursday 23 May 2013
Today
Light showers
Temperature: 3 C to 8 C
Wind Speed: 17 mph
Wind direction: North west
Tomorrow
Light showers
Temperature: 4 C to 9 C
Wind Speed: 24 mph
Wind direction: North east
