What you say about charges

The district council has confirmed it intends to scrap the ‘one size fits’ all policy in favour of a system geared more towards the needs of individual towns and villages.

It follows complaints from many inland market towns like Horncastle and Louth that the charging policy favoured coastal resorts - notably Skegness.

Speaking at a recent Horncastle Town Council meeting, ELDC’s portfolio holder for market towns, Coun Adam Grist, said he was keen to see the new changes introduced.

It is understood a draft report - which will include details of the new system - is being drawn up this month.

ELDC has confirmed the report will be available for public viewing in early 2017.

Town councillors in Horncastle and Louth have been among the most vocal in calls for change.

In Horncastle, there are hopes free parking periods could be increased in the town centre and signage improved to the only free car park at present on The Wong.

Former mayor Coun Angela Birchall is among those callers for charges to be scrapped at major public events - like the town’s Christmas market.

She believes individual town councils should have more say over the scale of charges in specific car parks owed and operated by ELDC.

Coun Grist said that while ELDC was keen to make changes, the authority could not afford to lose the income it received from parking charges. He stressed the money helped pay for frontline services, particularly in times of cuts in Government funding.