Driving trade back into the town

ALL-DAY parking charges at some of Droitwich’s car parks will be slashed in a bid to encourage residents into town and boost the local economy.

The current £6 charge to park all day on all Wychavon District Council long-stay car parks such as those at Lido Park and on the Saltway will be cut to just £4 following a district council meeting on Tuesday (February 19).

Councillors also voted to freeze the council tax for a third successive year and reduce the cost of a parking season ticket from £600 to £400 a year.

Council leader Paul Middleborough said the authority’s 50p charge for 30 minutes parking had proved popular but was concerned about the charge to use the car park all day.

“The £6 per day for parking in long stay car parks does appear to be deterring users,” he said.

“We are therefore proposing to limit the charge for long stay car parking to £4 per day in all long stay car parks, including Evesham Leisure Centre which is currently £5 for seven hours.

“We will also introduce the ability to pay for a season ticket by monthly direct debit. Monthly tickets will still be available at a new lower price of £40 for advance payment only,” he added.

A number of other pledges were made at the meeting including financial support and grants for at least 130 businesses across the district by 2015.

In a bid to manage the £1.15million reduction in their Government grant, Wychavon chiefs have also vowed to involve local residents in decisions on where the remaining cash should be spent.

Flood-hit areas will be boosted with £150,000 over the next three years being invested in community flood prevention programmes.

Council chiefs hope to sign up a further 2,500 households to compost waste through Wychavon’s garden waste service by March 2015.

The authority also hopes to reduce the number of homeless people it places in bed and breakfast accommodation by at least 50 per cent.

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