Council acting like ‘the Sheriff of Nottingham’ with parking charges

-Credit: (Image: Reach Publishing Services Limited)
-Credit: (Image: Reach Publishing Services Limited)


Ending free parking in two market towns will “unfairly affect the poorest” and is like something the Sheriff of Nottingham from Robin Hood would do, one councillor has warned.

A bid to stop new parking charges in Midsomer Norton and Radstock was voted down at a full meeting of Bath and North East Somerset Council on November 21. The council will introduce parking charges to the currently free Church Road and Waterloo Road car parks in Radstock and the South Street car park in Midsomer Norton in January 2025.

The new charges will be “emissions-based parking,” where cars are charged an additional amount based on how polluting the engine is. Based on the idea that “the polluter pays,” emissions-based parking has been the case in council car parks in Bath since September 2023 — but rolling it out to the Somer Valley towns has been highly controversial.

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Shaun Hughes (Midsomer Norton North, Independent) told the council meeting: “The emissions based charges are — as I have said before — a tax on the poor, putting an additional charge on people who can’t afford the latest electric vehicle, the latest fuel efficient vehicle. These people work primarily in low income jobs — they work in hospitality, they work in retail. But these are the people who need to be able to park all day.”

Eleanor Jackson (Westfield, Labour) added: “We are going to see this unjust charge unfairly affect the poorest people who can’t afford to get a posh electric car.”

She said: “I think we are going to need that great Yorkshireman again, Robin Hood, because he contested the system of taxing the poor and the money being carried off by the wealthy, the Sheriff of Nottingham.”

Introducing a motion to suspend the introduction of the parking charges, Mr Hughes said: “The reason this motion is here is because our businesses and their staff are genuinely in fear of losing their livelihoods.”

The Council argue that emission-based parking will improve air quality and reduce congestion - but many in Midsomer Norton fear it will endanger the local economy.
The Council argue that emission-based parking will improve air quality and reduce congestion - but many in Midsomer Norton fear it will endanger the local economy. -Credit:Western Daily Press

He added: “A lot of our residents struggle not to be stranded and isolated through the lack of public transport. They rely on their cars to be able to access the high street, to be able to access council offices, libraries, banks, pharmacies, professional services, or just to meet people.”

Seconding the motion, Tim Warren (Midsomer Norton Redfield, Conservative) warned the council that the charges might not even make it any money. He said: “You could end up losing money to shut the market town down.”

But defending the plan, the council’s cabinet member for highways Manda Rigby (Bathwick, Liberal Democrat) said: “We absolutely acknowledge that each of our areas within Bath and North East Somerset is unique. We therefore spend time and money significantly consulting to be able to amend our proposals in the light of feedback. Unlike any other area in B&NES, in the light of listening to feedback there will be two free hours parking provided in Midsomer Norton and Radstock and 25% reduction proposed hourly charge.

“This reduces the financial impact of the proposals on the motorists using the council car parks while offsetting the costs of running them to the council and the residents.”

She added that the charges for an hour were lower than in neighbouring North Somerset and South Gloucestershire and that giving people two hours of free parking would cost the council £31k, which it hopes to recover through increased car park use.

The base rate for an hour’s parking will be 30p, with an additional amount charged depending on emissions or engine size. You do not need to know your car’s emissions as pay and display machines will look them up from the DVLA when you pay to park — but one local has created a website not affiliated with the council where you can look them up in advance.

Mr Hughes said: “This is going to do irreversible harm to our economy in Midsomer Norton without any justifiable benefits.”

The motion to suspend the introduction of the charges was voted down by 29 votes to 16.