Local councillors recently said the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government was out of touch in accusing Swindon Borough Council of pocketing too much money over parking charges.
Actually, over one local parking issue at least, local councillors are completely out of touch.
When residents’ parking schemes were introduced over 20 years ago in Swindon town centre, they were brought in to help alleviate the problem of people and their visitors being able to park near their home in and around the town centre.
Often they could not do so on account of other people coming into town to shop or for other purposes taking up road space by parking in local streets.
One key feature of the residents’ parking schemes was that they were free of charge to those residents.
That seemed fair given that the problems were not of their making.
Since then successive local administrations have introduced and ratcheted up charges and demeaning overly bureaucratic systems that must surely qualify as a tax on town centre residents, as well as being a cash cow for the council.
Geraint Day Southampton Street Swindon
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