CONTENTIOUS plans to introduce new parking charges in Poole have been overwhelmingly rejected by visitors and residents, the borough’s own figures show.

Council chiefs want to introduce parking charges at some of the borough’s parks, on residential roads near the town’s beaches and at Upton Country Park. They’ve held a number of drop-in events in recent weeks, and have urged people to have their say as part of the process to determine the final decision.

A total of 2,083 responses have been received as part of a public consultation on extending on-street parking alone - 424 of these were from a residents sample survey, the remaining 1659 from a general public consultation.

Now BOP’s overview and scrutiny committee members, who are set to meet on Tuesday, will note all the consultation results and make final recommendations to cabinet.

In the public on-street parking survey just seven per cent of respondents agreed with the proposal. However, some 85 per cent disagreed.

Meanwhile, 15 per cent of residents backed the plans, while 64 per cent disagreed.

On the consultation to introduce charges at some Poole parks, 1744 people responded - with the clear majority of both residents and visitors opposed to the move.

And 80 per cent of public respondents in the Upton Country Park consultation, were opposed to parking charges. However, in the residents survey accompanying the Upton proposals, only 52 per cent were against, with 35 per cent backing the plans to start charging. at the attraction.

Five petitions with more than 10,000 signatures calling for the local authority to abandon its parking charge plans have already been handed into the council.

Whitecliff resident Bob Lister, who presented two of the petitions said he was “not surprised” by the strength of feeling shown, and added it was right that “people in those areas seek to protect them - they known what their needs and requirements are.”

Now, overview and scrutiny committee members will officially note the consultation findings and the petitions, before making their recommendation to cabinet.

Council officer reports recommend committee members further consider the “many detailed concerns raised” on the on-street and Poole parks plans.

However, they also recommend members agree to introduce parking fees at Upton County Park.

According to the consultation document, the main reasons given for opposing the on-street parking proposals were because of concerns about reduced beach visits and visitor enjoyment; outright objection to the parking charges; and the feeling that residents already pay enough through other taxes.

Speaking before the consultation results came back, BOP leader Cllr Janet Walton said: “The council is always keen to hear the views of Poole’s residents.”

Cllr Walton added: “The feedback from the public throughout this consultation will be taken into account prior to any decision being made and we would like to thank residents for taking the time to share their views.”