Swindon Borough Council’s chief executive, Gavin Jones, said this week that despite the Council’s desire to reduce its dependency on parking income, at this stage the money generated from parking underpins vital services in the town.
Jones claims that “It is the common aim of a number of local authorities to reduce the amount they rely on parking income”, and that it was the Council’s intention to review all the information available on the town centre car parks and work with the local businesses there.
Not much of a story in our opinion! PCI believes that parking revenues are an important source of income for local government to reinvest into community services, improving infrastructure and therefore the lives of its residents and businesses. Owning and driving a car in an urban area is a luxury, not a necessity; users should be prepared to pay for these services and improve these areas for everyone!