Hadleigh long stay car parking charges increase – could this harm business?

YESTERDAY BABERGH District Council decided to go ahead with a proposal to increase the long stay car parking charges in Hadleigh by 50 pence. This means that drivers parking in Hadleigh's council run car parks for longer than three hours could now have to pay £2.00.

The proposed increase in long stay parking charges is one of the ways Babergh District Council hopes to save £1.3 million next year. They will also be increasing council tax by 3.5%.

Cllr Jennie Jenkins, Chairman of the Babergh District Council Strategy Committee said: "I believe that these proposals accurately reflect the kind of balance that our residents and other bodies are asking us to strike as we go about the painful and difficult business of sorting out next year's budget."

The increase, in Hadleigh's long stay charges, is mainly going to affect small business owners in our town that have to use the council car parks. These business owners will inevitably be parking for longer than three hours each day.

Luckily there was also good news announced regarding short stay car parking in Hadleigh. Babergh District Council has decided that they are not going to press ahead with plans to start charging drivers parking for less than three hours.

As always we want to know the views of people living in Hadleigh. Did you expect the proposed hike in council tax? Will the planned increase in long stay car parking charges affect local business owners?