Bankrupt Croydon Labour raids residents’ pockets in bid to repair Council finances
There will be no “Happy New Year” to local businesses and residents from Croydon Council. From the 1st January 2021, people across Croydon will have to put their hands in their pockets to fund three new car parking charge increases.
The increases follow the news that Croydon’s failing Labour Council has bankrupted the borough and it is increasingly clear that hard-working residents and businesses will be expected to pay the price.
From January 1st 2021, the following charges will be introduced:
- Removal of free parking bays from high streets: one-hour and half-hour free parking bays will be removed. This will have a detrimental impact on local traders at a time when the Council should be doing everything in its power to support the high street.
- Introduction of “emission-based parking”: the scheme had initially been scheduled for April 2021 but has been brought forward due to Croydon’s financial crisis. People owning older vehicles will have to pay more to park. Even if a vehicle is “low emissions”, only those comfortable paying with their mobile phone will be able to claim any discounts.
- General parking charge increase: all parking tickets will increase by 30p per half hour – effectively 1p a minute.
Cllr. Gareth Streeter, Conservative Spokesperson for Environment, Transport and Regeneration, says:
“Labour have bankrupted Croydon and now they’re looking to raise an extra £3m by raising the cost of parking. This will be detrimental to business, tough on the low-paid and discriminatory against older people. Quite simply, it’s unfair that residents and businesses have to pay the price for Labour’s failure to manage the budget since 2014.
“There’s not a jot of evidence that these measures are going to improve local air quality. In fact, because of the increases, many people will now drive to neighbouring boroughs to do their shopping. Not only will this be detrimental for high streets across Croydon but it could actually make local air quality worse by encouraging people to make longer car journeys.”
The decision to introduce the charges followed a short consultation with local residents. Despite strong objections from communities across Croydon, this failing Labour Council has decided to press ahead with their original plan. It is the first example of the increased charges and taxes that Croydon residents are now likely to have to pay in order to bail-out Croydon Labour and their disastrous record of financial mismanagement.
