£25,000 shortfall in income from Cannock and Rugeley car parks
Income from pay-and-display parking charges across Cannock and Rugeley is expected to be more than £25,000 lower than expected this year, council bosses have revealed.
Cash from the fees is already £17,860 down on the £364,430 the local authority anticipated to receive between April and September and it is feared the drop could continue.
A report to a meeting of the Cannock Chase Council's decision-making cabinet last night showed the slump is predicted to continue over the next six months. Bosses said they were working on plans to make the town centres more attractive and pull more shoppers in.
Income from bays is likely to be around £27,000 down on what the authority was hoping for by the end of the financial year in March. It comes as the amount of cash generated from rents at shops surrounding Cannock Market is also due to fall up to £60,000 on expectations due to retailers moving out.
Council chiefs have insisted there are no plans to increase parking charges to cover the shortfall. But action is being taken to draw in shoppers and traders.
Around £300,000, on top of the Mary Portas pilot cash which includes offering a £10,000 business rate holiday, is already set aside for town centre improvements.
A cut-price parking scheme in Cannock town centre where shoppers are charged 50p to park for 30 minutes is also planned as part of a six-month pilot scheme. It is due to see 23 bays installed in Manor Avenue, Stafford Road and Mill Street. The council also is offering free parking on all its spaces on the two Saturdays in the run-up to Christmas next month.
Council leader George Adamson said figures have shown more people are parking in Rugeley but Cannock is a problem. "We have got lots of measures planned to improve our town centres," he said.
By Craig Hughes
