Breckland Council spent £100k on parking charges plan
It's roughly £40,000 more on the scheme than was first reported
It has been revealed a Norfolk council spent nearly £100,000 on its ill-fated plans to introduce car parking charges.
New data shows Breckland Council spent roughly £40,000 more on the scheme than was first reported.
The council spent the huge sum on surveys, consultation and legal fees before hitting the brakes on the plans last month in light of local government reorganisation.
The proposals had been highly controversial among locals in towns such as Dereham, Watton and Thetford, but the council said fees were necessary to pay for maintenance of the car parks.
However, Norfolk’s eight councils all face the prospect of being abolished, with new councils created to replace them, as part of Labour’s devolution and reorganisation plans.
Leaders at Breckland Council said the implementation of car parking charges would now be for a “future administration” to decide and paused the project last month.
While council documents stated some £31,000 had been spent on a feasibility study and nearly £26,000 on consultation for the scheme, the true cost of the project has now been revealed to be even more steep.
A Freedom of Information (FOI) request to Breckland Council shows it spent just shy of £100,000 on its plans to introduce car parking fees.
These costs include £35,700 on surveys, £29,650 on a feasibility study, £19,460.34 on consultation, £6,000 on legal work and £7,757.51 on communication costs.
This brings the project total to £98,567.85.
The plans to introduce car parking charges were controversial from the beginning and sparked fears among business owners this would be the nail in the coffin for high streets in the district.
The scheme has been paused but not scrapped entirely. This means research carried out may still be used by future leaders to determine whether charges should be implemented.
Breckland Council has declined to comment on the cost of the scheme.
The authority has faced criticism in recent months over its financial management after several controversial investments came to light – and people living in the district will pay an extra 4pc in council tax this year as it seeks to balance the books.