The "half hour free parking" is not free

12.00.00am GMT Tue 11th Mar 2003

The "half hour free parking" voucher scheme was attacked this week as a confidence trick by Sir David Williams, former Leader of Richmond Council.

He has calculated that the cost of each voucher to the Council Tax payers is 36 pence. Yet half an hour's parking at Ham Parade for instance is only 30 pence.

This is a wasteful use of Council money at a time when the Council Tax is going up 15.6%.

The "free parking con" is budgeted to cost £280,000, with 10 half hour freeparking vouchers sent with the Council Tax demands to 78,000 homes. But car owners in Richmond can't use them in Richmond Town Centre, or in car parks like Arragon Road, Twickenham, that aren't "pay and display".

Even worse, for areas without meters like Whitton, residents will be tempted to drive away from their local shops to avoid wasting their vouchers.

The Tories claim the half hour free parking is a manifesto pledge from lastyear's election, and say they have to go ahead.

But they have broken their promises to the voters in three ways.

1. They promised permanent free parking, not just 10 vouchers a year.

2. They promised free parking "at any meter or in any Council car park."

3. They promised free parking to "all Borough residents", not just Council Tax payers.

The South Richmond Tory candidates promised, "The Conservative unique policy of 30 minutes free parking for Borough residents will make it much easier for local people to stop and shop." But not, it transpires, in South Richmond ward which includes Richmond Town Centre!

Councillor Williams said, "Not only are the Tories breaking their "

"election promises, the scheme costs more than the benefit in small shopping parades even if the vouchers are used. But worst of all, residents without cars are subsidising those who HAVE cars. This has to be wrong."