New Car Park Strategy approved by Councillors

Councillors have approved a new Car Park Strategy for Blaby District Council which will see the authority commit to its green agenda and cost-neutral car parks.

Voted through at the Full Council meeting on Tuesday 19 July, the strategy focuses on working towards the Council’s priorities, including the installation of LED lighting as well as maintaining and installing cycle racks.

There is also a commitment to developing a new community safety-focused CCTV system in Blaby Village Centre and Narborough Railway Station subject to a successful bid for grant funding.

The new strategy is aimed at reducing the significant losses for operating the car parks, which have been experienced over the last three years, with the car park service operating on the principle of the user pays to achieve at least cost neutral.

Councillors took on board feedback from the consultation, with most car park users saying that they use car parks for under an hour. As a result of this a one-hour tariff of 70p will be introduced from October.

Two-hours will cost £1, with £1.50 for three hours and £3 for four hours. These charges will apply in Johns Court and Enderby Road car parks in Blaby, as well as Weavers Court and Leicester Road in Narborough. Parking all day will cost £6, including Narborough Railway Station and ensure that our car parks are either cheaper or comparable with neighbouring authorities

Card payments, pay by phone and app as well as cash options will all still be available. To continue the trend to cashless ways of paying, only one machine in each car park will accept cash when the charges are brought in.

EV charging points will be retained to ensure that residents who want to own an electric vehicle but have limited or no off-street parking have the infrastructure in place to make the step into EV ownership.

Four days of free car parking in the pay and display car parks will also be maintained along with three hours of free parking for disabled blue badge holders.

More information, including the new strategy, will be available at www.blaby.gov.uk/car-parks soon.

Response from Narborough Parish Council

Narborough Parish Council is very disappointed that Blaby District Council has agreed a revised Car Parking Strategy without taking on board the comments this Council made to address the unique parking issues this Parish faces arising from commuter traffic of the estimated 400,000 journeys made each year at Narborough Station. This Council’s comments included, amongst other things, an initial short period free from charges and discounted weekly tickets, neither of which would compromise Blaby’s objective of charges covering maintenance costs. This would have helped residents, local businesses and eased on-road parking. 

The Parish Council welcomes the commitment to further dialogue on parking issues with parishes in the strategy but this needs to be a meaningful dialogue where concerns are heard and addressed in a way that has not happened to date.

In the meantime, residents and commuters may wish to press their local District Councillors on why the Council dismissed the Parish Council’s concerns whilst at the same time offering free parking to District Council staff and those visiting leisure centres and country parks, all of which will be subsidised by those who pay to use the District’s car parks in Narborough.