Shepway Council Misled Sandgate on Car Park Income

6.09.08pm BST (GMT +0100) Thu 8th Oct 2009

Sandgate and Folkestone West County Councillor Tim Prater and Sandgate Parish Councillor Ann Rimmer by the new pay and display machine at Sandgate's Castle Road Car Park

Tim Prater has slammed Shepway Council Leader Robert Bliss for misleading local residents on the income being raised through the recently imposed charges on Castle Road Car Park in Sandgate. In an article in the Folkestone Herald on 8th October, an article featuring Cllr Bliss describes the introduction of charges at Sandgate's Castle Hill Car park as a "success" with "takings averaging £700 a week".

Lib Dem Cllr Tim Prater asked Shepway Council for a breakdown in income at the car park since the introduction of car parking charges by week. The response from Shepway Council was as follows (income by week):

• 17 - 23 August: £806

• 24 - 30 August: £678.40

• 31 August - 6 September: £831.40

• 7 - 13 September: £299.80

• 14 - 21 September: £394

• 21 - 29 September: £313

This averages £554 a week, or just £336 a week on average over the last three weeks.

Tim Prater, whose Folkestone West County Council Division includes Sandgate, is furious that Shepway have been misleading the public over the parking income from the car park. He said:

"To claim an average income of £700 a week when its quite clearly nowhere near that is deception. Shepway and Cllr Bliss need to be honest with local residents - it seems that they either couldn't add up the figures, understand them or deliberately misrepresented them.

"The August income figures from Castle Road Car Park were of course going to be higher than at other times - it's a seaside car park during the summer holidays after all! With the last weekend of August also featuring the Sandgate Sea Festival, income would always be expected to be higher than at other times in the year - but even taking that into account, Shepway's figures in last weeks papers simply do not add up and claim average income of £150 a week more than the reality.

"In September - which for most of the month still had good weather - we start to see the real picture and the weekly income dropping even further - in fact, to under half that claimed by Shepway. These figures will almost certainly drop further - bad weather and the winter months will hardly improve income.

"The facts are that the imposition of car parking charges has driven people out of the car park, and driven people away from Shepway. Local businesses have told me they have seen business decline, and the car park is often empty. The imposition of charges by Shepway last month was a disaster for Sandgate and no amount of inflated spin from the Council will make people believe otherwise. Shepway Council and Robert Bliss have hurt Sandgate, and now it seems they are reduced to exaggerating the income figures to try to justify it."