Following a ‘walkabout’ with local residents, Matthew has spoken out against the changes in parking being proposed by Barnet Council. Plans by the Council include increasing the annual permit charge to £100 up from £42; converting all the on-street Pay & Display machines to ‘cashless’; and removing all the free bays in CPZ areas. The changes have been branded as a stealth tax to fill an alleged £2 million shortfall in the Special Parking Account (SPA).
During Matthew’s time as the Councillor responsible for parking on Barnet Council (2004-2008), he froze the cost of permits for three years and then only increased it by inflation, introduced free visitor parking permits, started the review of CPZ areas and allowed a five minute ‘grace period’ for those who over-ran their off-street parking tickets.
Claims that a short-fall in the SPA will need to be made up by an increase in the permit fee have been rejected by Matthew, as the SPA cannot be used to raise income, merely used to resource the parking service with the surplus paying for concessionary travel and highway infrastructure projects. If there is a short-fall in the SPA then Matthew believes there needs to be a corresponding cut-back in the Highways work programme.
Matthew said, “I am not an idealist, especially when it comes to parking, having been responsible for the service for longer than any other Councillor. But I am not convinced that these measures will improve the service for those of us who park on Hendon’s streets. Residents and traders in Burnt Oak and Mill Hill have complained to me about the cashless system. It’s all very well saying that Westminster is cashless but we do not live in Westminster. Both Burnt Oak and Mill Hill have town centres where people want to stop, shop and then drive off in a few minutes – something you cannot do in Westminster. Not everyone has a mobile phone. An elderly resident told me last week that he simply did not want to have a mobile phone so will be prevented from parking and spending money locally. Some people use coins to jam the P&D machines so the Council wants to go cashless. Traders in Burnt Oak tell me that these same people simply scratch off the cashless parking number so a payment cannot be made. Now is the time to help local traders and businesses so the Council should be making it easier to park. They could do this by re-introducing the ‘Free After Three’ scheme or introducing a parking rebate scheme with local shops, not increasing permit charges and making it harder to pay in our town centres.”
Matthew is writing to the Leader of the Council to highlight his concerns and those of residents.