All change! ELDC in new parking review

At the moment, the same rules and regulations - and many charges - apply across all ELDC owned car parks, from coastal resorts to market towns.

It has emerged the council could agree to different tariffs across the district as part of a wide-ranging review.

The council say they are responding to long-held claims that inland communities have far different priorities for parking than their coastal counterparts.

The council is looking at car parking in Louth, Alford, Mablethorpe, Sutton on Sea, Horncastle, Coningsby, Woodhall Spa, Tattershall, Skegness, Ingoldmells, Chapel St Leonards, Spilsby and Burgh Le Marsh.

The authority is undertaking the review itself with no private company involved.Representatives of ELDC are currently in the process of presenting their ideas to town and parish councils across the district.

They met Louth Town Council last Tuesday evening and highlighted how the changes could operate.

It is understood meetings will be held with town and parish councils in Horncastle, Woodhall Spa and Coningsby later in the year.

Councillors in Horncastle have been campaigning for more free car parking to be introduced.

They have also stressed it is unfair to compare parking requirements in the town with, for example, Skegness.

In Woodhall Spa, parish councillors have indicated they could be willing to take responsibility for the two EDLDC owned car parks in the village.

They are looking at utilising the income from the car parks to pay for other services, which could be handed down to a parish level by ELDC.

ELDC says surveys have been launched to discover exactly what the parking requirements are in specific areas - including when non-busy periods are and how far visitors travel.

Louth councillors said they supported the idea and put forward suggestions that they would like to see implemented.

Several councillors said parking in towns needed to be addressed following the controversial increase in prices implemented last year.

The meeting heard more people were opting for on-street parking, causing problems in residential roads and in the town centre.

Coun Andrew Leonard said that if the free parking was introduced, it would ‘keep people off the streets and change the face of Louth’.

He also said it would be better to have a system which enabled vehicle owners to pay when they exited car parks as they would be encouraged to stay - and shop - for longer.

○ELDC hope to launch a public consultation by the end of September.