Decision Due This Month on Countryside Car-Parking Charges After Petitions

Published on: 6 Nov, 2019
Updated on: 8 Nov, 2019

Surrey Commons Parking Charges

By Rebecca Curley

local democracy reporter

A decision on the future of countryside car-parking charges is expected at Surrey County Council cabinet on Tuesday, November 26.

A review has been made of the controversial parking meters introduced in 2018 at some of SCC’s car-parks after thousands of people signed petitions and raised questions calling for the charges to be abolished.

Councillors raised concerns about the business case, estimation of visitor numbers and money charges could generate at 16 of the 30 countryside car-parks where they have been introduced.

Places where meters were installed included Newlands Corner, Chobham Common, Norbury Park, Ockham Common, Whitmoor Common and Rodborough Common.
Other big decisions in Surrey this month include the transformation of libraries and the draft budget for 2020-21.

More than 7,000 people responded to a consultation about the future of libraries in Surrey. There are 52, including 10 community-partnered ones.

SCC says it wants to modernise the libraries and make them “fit for purpose” but plans for the changes have been running slightly behind schedule with response to the first round of consultations so high.

The budget will also be delivered to the cabinet setting out projects the council is going to spend on next year.

Decisions are also expected on the universal youth offer about youth centres, the capital strategy on pupil referral units (PRU), moving Surrey County Hall to Woking, the Medium-Term Financial Plan for 2020-25 and a paper on commercial waste.

A SCC spokesman said no decisions have been affected by the General Election and purdah, the period of time leading up to an election which restricts what local and central governments can communicate about their business.