Find it hard to park? Now we know why (Westminster and City of London Liberal Democrats)

Westminster and City of London Liberal Democrats <info@westminsterlibdems.org.uk>

Find it hard to park? Now we know why

October 5, 2008 9:20 PM

Sue Baring supporting better parking for local residents

Local residents should come first, says Lancaster Gate by-election candidate Sue Baring

Local people who struggle to find a parking space will be angered to learn that the council sells thousands more residents' parking permits than there are spaces for residents.

Over 41,500 residents' permits are on issue, but there are only a little over 32,000 spaces where residents can use them to park. This leaves a gap of almost 10,000.

These figures were obtained by the local Liberal Democrats using the Freedom of Information Act.

Commenting, Sue Baring, who is the Liberal Democrat candidate in the Lancaster Gate by-election, said, "The Conservative-run council is letting residents down. Local people will feel frustrated and angry that they pay the council £115 for a permit, but find it so hard to park.

"What the council should do is convert some of the thousands of visitors' spaces into ones that can be used only by residents. That would make life easier for local people, which is what they deserve after spending so much money on a permit. That would be a common sense solution to this problem."

Money from the sale of residents' permits put £1.3 million into the council's bank account in the first seven months of this year alone.