New seasonal resident only parking scheme

A Thanet District Council report published today proposes introducing a new resident-only parking scheme at five seasonal car parks across the district.

The new resident scheme will operate in the following car parks: Albion Street, Chandos Square, Broadstairs Harbour, and Joss Bay, Broadstairs and Marine Esplanade, Ramsgate. The system will work in the same way as the current on-street parking peel and seal voucher scheme.

The proposed daily charge for residents would be £2.50 per day, which is heavily discounted against the current daily charge of £12. Residents will also be able to buy a book of 20 vouchers for £40, which further reduces the daily charge to £2.00 per day.

Cllr Suzanne Brimm, Cabinet Member for Operational Services at Thanet District Council, said: “As part of our extensive review of parking across the district, we welcomed comments from the public over a six week period and are grateful to those who submitted their views.

“These responses reinforce the need to introduce an amended scheme which protects our residents and local businesses and ensures any impact on them is kept to a minimum. We hope that by responding to feedback from residents, the new scheme will encourage those who often visit our local shops, attractions and beaches to continue to regularly do so.”

These proposals go to an Extraordinary Cabinet meeting on 18 July 2017, 7pm. If approved, the scheme would come into force by the end of July 2017 and will run until 31 October 2017. In future years, the scheme will run between 1 April and 31 October.

Vouchers will initially be available via the Gateway and tourist information centres, before an on-line ordering system is introduced. Applicants will need to show local authority residency to qualify for the new parking voucher scheme.

Further information

• The council announced new parking schemes in April, to help meet income generation targets and positively impact on parking issues in the district
• There were 290 responses as part of the council’s period for public comments on the new parking schemes
• A separate cabinet meeting will review the new parking charges that are now in place for 2017/18
• Parking enforcement is taken seriously with 17,000 tickets issued in 2016 compared to 12,500 in 2015.