28 Jan 2025
Unpopular plans to charge for on-street parking in Harpenden have been approved despite fierce opposition from retailers, residents and town councillors.
The final decision was made by SADC strategic director of community and place delivery Chris Traill in consultation with Cllr Helen Campbell, and charges will come into effect from February 17.
Because the changes would be authorised by a Traffic Regulation Order (TRO), they do not require approval by a council committee.
Retailers and residents alike have opposed the measures – which were revealed by the St Albans Times last February – with an e-petition opposing the scheme signed by 1,774 people, and a further 1,264 and 6,022 signing paper and Change.org versions.
Cllr Campbell said: “I fully understand that some people will be disappointed at being charged for a service that they have been getting for free.
“In making the decision, we analysed the responses to the consultations and engaged with stakeholders such as ward councillors and Harpenden Town Council.
“We listened to the feedback and we made some significant changes as a result, such as changing the start of the controlled hours to 9am in Harpenden to help parents dropping off for school, and meeting requests for a longer free period of 30 minutes. In addition, we will also be improving access to Harpenden town centre for Blue Badge holders.”
Cllr Campbell added: “The charges are benchmarked against other local authorities, with many towns of a similar size to Harpenden having long had charges for on-street bays. As with other parking charges, we will monitor the impact of the changes and review if necessary.”
The charges will:
- Apply from 9am to 6pm in Harpenden and, reflecting local conditions, 8.30am to 6.30pm in St Albans, both Monday to Saturday, with no charge outside these hours;
- Allow for a 30-minutes free period once a day;
- Be £1.25 for 30 minutes, so the charge for a one-hour stay will be £1.25 while the two-hour cost will be £3.75, both including the free period;
- Cover a maximum stay of two hours with no return for two hours.
Five limited waiting bays in Leyton Green, Harpenden, will be converted into resident parking bays for the benefit of local households.
Revenue from charges will go towards the council’s on-street car parking services budget, which is currently running at a deficit, and towards greater levels of parking enforcement.
Cllr Campbell added: “The Secretary of State is clear that parking services should be self-sufficient, funded by fees and charges, instead of subsidised by other council services as is the case at the moment. The revenue generated will help reduce the on-street parking service deficit, which is in the interest of all council taxpayers as it will ensure we can better protect some of our other services.
“Should any surplus income arise from on-street car parking, it would have to be kept in a ring-fenced budget and only be invested in parking, highways and environmental improvements.”
The council has also approved a new Access Pass to help older people who may have difficulties with digital applications. This pass will be made available for purchase from Thursday February 13 and will cover all district council car parks.
The pass will cost £190 a year and be valid for one visit a day for up to three hours.
To be eligible for the pass, a person would need to be a resident of the district and aged 70 or over.
Last November’s meeting of the SADC public realm committee saw councillors consider the results of a recent consultation which opposed the proposals, while retailers again explained the negative impact they would have on trade.
But although the same arguments were debated at length, it was not down to the committee to make any decision on whether to proceed with the planned fees.
The public realm committee meets again this evening, when it is due to ratify its budget proposals.
These include the measure: “Full year effect of changes to On Street Parking fees proposed to be implemented part way through 2024/25. Total full year income: £60k St Albans (70 bays) and £208k Harpenden (243 Bays).”
Conservative group leader Cllr Matt Cowley responded to the news: “95 per cent of Harpenden residents made clear that they didn’t want to see parking charges on the High Street. But Liberal Democrat-run St Albans district council have refused to listen and fall back on the same tired excuses.
“Where our local Conservative team wants to make it easier for us all to enjoy our High Street and ensure that our local independent businesses have all the support they need, the Lib Dems have pushed ahead with a new High Street Tax that will put the future of our High Street at risk.”
Former Tory Parliamentary candidate for Harpenden, Nigel Gardner, whose campaign was fought on opposing the charges, added: “I am furious. For the past year, Harpenden residents, Harpenden businesses and Harpenden lovers across the political spectrum have made it abundantly clear that they don’t want these parking charges.
“They are bad for our local economy, bad for our most vulnerable residents, and bad for our local community.
“These charges are being pushed through by Chris Traill, the council’s director of strategy, who lives in Leicester and has never knowingly tried to park in Harpenden. I fear they are ideologically driven as part of a war on local motorists.
“TS Eliot wrote April was the cruellest month. For Harpenden’s high street traders, Ms Traill has ensured this year the cruellest month will be February.
“I now hope that the town council – which has admirably put Harpenden’s interests above those of party – will move ahead with a judicial review to stop Ms Traill’s plans in their tracks.”
Harpenden Town Council has responded to the decision with a stern warning about what happens next. Previous comments suggested this might involve a Judicial Review.
Town clerk Carl Cheevers said: “We are aware that SADC has now taken a decision to implement charges to a large number of on-street parking bays across Harpenden town centre.
“The town council has previously set out its strong objection to the introduction of parking charges and continues to hold significant concerns regarding the impact that this will have on local businesses and the wider community.
“The town council has sought legal advice on this matter and has been considering what options might be available based on the various decisions that SADC could have taken. Now that we are clear on SADC’s direction, we will seek immediate further advice and consider the actions to take next.
“We will provide further information on how we intend to proceed as soon as we are able to.”
Jeff Phillips, chair of the Harpenden Society, added their comments to the mix: “The Harpenden Society is disappointed by the insistence of SADC to impose parking charges in the centre of the town starting Feb 17th. This despite substantial local opposition and suggestions from the town council and ourselves that would have facilitated sensible compromises.
“Pushing through this charging regime, which has barely altered from the regime proposed prior to the consultation period is, frankly, insulting.
“The Society accepts the principle of charging, but as an example, the single visit 30 minute free period per day could mean parents at the two town centre schools to have to pay for parking when they pick up their children at the end of the school day. This assumes they have used the free 30 minutes on another visit during the day.
“And to add insult to injury, SADC have agreed to delay the implementation of charges in the roads around Clarence Park in St Albans ‘until a wider review’ has taken place.
“Both the town council and the Society have argued strongly for such a review of the wider parking issues to take place in Harpenden as well.
“There seems to be one law for St Albans residents and another for the residents of Harpenden. We repeat our request for these proposals to be suspended so that a fair and sensible parking strategy and charging regime can be developed for the town centre.”
