Lincoln car park to raise charges by 12.5%
An effort to stop a multi-storey car park increasing its charges has been defeated.
The cost of parking for two hours at Lincoln Central will go up 12.5% - from £4 to £4.50 from April.
The council’s Conservative group put forward an amendment that the charges remain frozen to help struggling businesses and encourage people to visit the city centre.
However, the Labour-run administration said that the multi-storey car park on Melville Street was already very popular and remained cheaper than private ones in the area.
The estimated cost of the freeze for one year would be just over £78,000.
Conservative leader Coun Tom Dyer told the full City of Lincoln Council meeting on Tuesday (March 4) that it was worthwhile to boost the economy.
“If you speak to businesses or Lincoln BIG, they have their concerns about getting people to visit the High Street,” he said at the meeting.
“This is a 12.5% increase in two-hour parking, which is a direct penalty on shoppers and tourists.
“When we’ve got businesses crying out for support, it isn’t justifiable.
“You may say it’s only a few pence, but the increase in parking charges has been substantial over the nine years I’ve been on this council.”
Coun Martin Christopher (Lib Dem) agreed: “Many residents say they can’t afford to come into the town centre.”
Coun leader Naomi Tweddle (Lab) responded: “The Central car park is so good and so successful, it’s actually sucking all the energy into there, causing problems on the road network.
“We need to disperse some of those drivers into other car parks.
“The city centre is absolutely buzzing. The use of the bus station and car parks are both exceptionally high.
“I don’t agree that the charge is too much.”
More than 630,000 parking tickets were sold at the car park last year, according to council figures.
A Freedom of Information request revealed that the car park’s lifts broke down 16 times in six months last year.
Council officers said this was mainly due to wear and tear from the high volume of visitors.
