Bedford Borough Council has defended controversial evening and overnight parking charges, saying they are needed to help tackle a “serious financial situation”, despite growing anger from drivers who say the system is unclear and bad for the town centre.
Car park users have told the Bedford Independent they feel “fleeced” and say they will think twice about coming into Bedford in the evening after being hit with unexpected costs at town centre car parks.
Drivers “fleeced”
Earlier this week, we reported on examples of people being charged more than they expected at Lurke Street and River Street, including:
- A grandmother who says she was charged £4.10 for around 30 minutes at Lurke Street, including what she believes was “£2 for two minutes” after arriving just before 8am and £2.10 for the time after, despite signage advertising £1.60 per hour.
- A driver who says he paid £5.90 for one hour and eight minutes at River Street after a birthday meal, when his rate included an overnight charge despite only parking for 26 minutes after 8pm.
- Another, who says he was charged £9 for two hours and 20 minutes while eating at Riverside North with his family, described the decision as “brainless,” adding, “Bedford is on its knees.”
Read: Drivers furious as new evening parking rules add ‘overnight’ fees to short stays
Some say they will avoid coming into town in future because they cannot trust what they will be charged.
These concerns mirror points raised at an Executive meeting on Monday (26 January), when the mayor was warned that the new structure could deter visitors and damage the evening economy of the town centres.
Local business owners have also expressed their frustration.
Rosanna Heasman, who runs The Store on St Cuthbert’s Street, wrote on our Facebook page, ‘I think some People don’t mind paying for parking when they are planning a long visit, i.e., an afternoon out, multiple shops, lunch, etc.
‘But they do mind paying just to pop in for one coffee, one item, or a quick visit. That is exactly the type of visit that keeps independent businesses alive.
‘Paid parking discourages those short, frequent visits which we need to keep our towns moving and thriving.’
Read: Council confirms four-hour free parking to pause as Bedford Borough faces financial pressures
Commenting on our community Facebook group, We Are Bedford, Matt Walton, who runs Herd, also on St Cuthbert’s Street, highlighted the longer-term impact this could have on council finances.
‘Does the mayor know that if buildings are empty, you don’t get any rates? It’s common sense, but who knows with our mayor,’ he wrote.
It feels like such a stab in the back to be squeezing the customer and small businesses for every penny
“Not our preferred position”
Responding to questions from the Bedford Independent, Cllr Andrea Spice (Conservative, Wixams and Wilstead), portfolio holder for economic growth, planning and prosperity, said the council’s finances left little room for manoeuvre.
Read: Bedford Borough Council faces £59 million funding gap up to 2030
“The council is in a serious financial situation and as such is reviewing all aspects of spend. Unfortunately, this includes car parks. It is certainly not our intention to put pressure on the evening economy.
Instead, we are trying, at a small charge, to offer easy and safe parking options,” she said.
“We are not trying to show a parking policy shift for the council, but we recognise pressures and also came under immense political pressure to remove the additional free parking that many loved.
“In politics, sometimes hard decisions have to be made, but we will be doing all we can to be in a situation to reintroduce more free car parking in the future.”
She said the council was looking at the “issues raised and experienced” within the budget available and did not want people to feel the administration was making it harder to come into town or failing to support businesses.
Mayor Tom Wootton (Conservative) said free parking could not be maintained at previous levels.
“Free parking had a really fantastic response from both businesses and users of our town, which is what we have always wanted, little things improved to improve our town centre offering,” he said.
“We are doing what we can with the little budget we have, as this is not our preferred position.”
No answer on refunds or clearer signage
The Bedford Independent asked Bedford Borough Council whether it would update signs and online information to make evening and overnight charges clearer, and whether it would consider issuing refunds to drivers who feel misled by current pricing lists.
Despite being given extra time, the council did not respond to those specific questions.
If you feel you have been charged unfairly, you can email Parking.Services@bedford.gov.uk to register a complaint.
