Local Councillors have slammed Council plans to end free parking in Midsomer Norton and Radstock - and warned that some local businesses “won’t survive without it”, talking at a Scrutiny Panel meeting last week.

Discussing the plans to bring parking charges into the towns at a Council Scrutiny Panel meeting on January 11th, Midsomer Norton North Councillor Shaun Hughes warned: “Midsomer Norton has been totally neglected for a decade or more and most of the businesses on the High Street are struggling to survive. And a small gesture like a free car park is hugely beneficial to helping those businesses survive and there are some businesses that seriously won’t survive without it.”

Writing to The Journal’s letters page this week, Councillor Hughes said: ‘Here we go again! A Bath Centric Council trying to manage Midsomer Norton without any understanding of our town, with another hugely damaging plan to introduce parking charges.’

Under the plans the price of a parking ticket would depend on the emissions of your vehicle, the same way that Council car parks in Bath now work. Council Cabinet Member for Transport Manda Rigby said: “If you look at Councils up and down the country, there are very few places that are now offering free parking. We are completely aware that we need to pitch the numbers that will not detract from the High Street.

“So we are not saying we will charge the same things as we would in Bath, but the principle would be the same, about the people who drive the most polluting cars into an area would be the people who pay more.”

Mr Hughes added: “In Midsomer Norton, we see that as penalising the poorest that can’t afford an electric car, they can’t afford the latest or the most fuel efficient vehicles. So maybe that’s a scheme that works in Bath, it certainly isn’t something that works out in a working-class area like Midsomer Norton.”

He said: “In Midsomer Norton, cars are not a luxury, they are a necessity. And a lot of people have cars even though they struggle to afford to have them but they need them to get to work.”

Introducing parking charges had previously been considered in 2022 but was dropped after a local campaign. Paulton Councillor Grant Johnson - who has now reopened the petition from the campaign - said that some of the shops he had spoken to during the campaign had now ceased trading.

He warned: “That should be eye-opening to the Council before they go gung-ho into saying they are making everyone’s lives healthier by bringing in parking charges which is just farcical.”

However, Midsomer Norton North Councillor, Michael Auton, told The Journal: “In the past couple of weeks, I’ve spoken to over 110 car park users about South Road car park, along with over a dozen High Street businesses. Many people feel strongly that the availability of free parking is vital to the economy of the town. It’s clear that no-one likes the idea of paying for car parking.

“However, most local residents acknowledge the Council’s financial challenges, caused by high inflation, significant reduction in Central Government funding and rising demand for local services, and that they have to look everywhere to balance the budget.

“I believe we can reach a compromise. In my survey, I collected data on duration of car parking, reasons for visiting Midsomer Norton, and where people had travelled from. Over 85% of participants using the car park come to town for shopping and leisure and stay for a relatively short period – up to 2 hours. Therefore, I am calling for the Council to keep a 2-hour free parking period. This would ensure people still felt able to pop into town for shopping and would help protect local businesses.

“I want to stress that in an ideal world we would not have the charges at all, but I do recognise the financial aspect for the Council. Offering 2 free hours will help to alleviate cost for shoppers.

“I am also proposing that local businesses should be able to have a free parking permit. Most are small, independent businesses operating on tight margins, so this would really help, especially for those staff on low incomes.

“At this week’s budget scrutiny session in Keynsham, I proposed these ideas to the Cabinet member for Transport and I’m pleased she has agreed to meet me and discuss it further.

“I’d like to thank everyone who has taken the time to talk to me and fill in my survey – especially in the pouring rain! I will report back from my meeting with the Cabinet member as soon as possible.”

The new parking charges are just one of a raft of money making and saving measures by the Council as it faces a budget gap in the next financial year of £24.53m. A rise in Council Tax of the maximum 4.99% allowed (two percentage points of which will be ring fenced for spending on adult social care) is also being proposed.