NO free Christmas parking will be laid on to support hard-pressed traders and shoppers in the BCP area this festive season.
BCP Council have confirmed they will not be providing any free parking periods at council-owned car parks in town centres and district shopping areas.
Instead, they are encouraging people to take the bus or use sustainable travel methods to visit town centres during the festive season.
The decision is likely to anger business owners across the conurbation, who are already under extreme pressure due to rising costs as the public tightens the purse strings.
The four BIDs in the conurbation have described BCP Council’s decision to axe Christmas parking concessions as ‘a hammer blow’ to thousands of businesses across the three towns.
Read more: BCP Council leader defends plan to sell income making assets
The council are blaming the decision on the cost of living crisis adding pressures to their budget.
In the summer however, the local authority was forced to ask the government to borrow around £75million in the coming years, with £20million for the current financial year.
It came after the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities closed a contentious loophole, torpedoing the council's controversial beach hut sell-off plans and leaving a hole in the council’s future finances.
They are now looking to plug the gap through selling assets and making cuts to services.
Read more: Bournemouth Christmas Tree Wonderland 2022: what's on where
A spokesperson for BCP Council said: “Like other local authorities across the country, we are facing significant pressures on our budget.
"We estimate the cost of living will add an extra £55 million to the cost of running the council over the next two years while demand for our services is set to increase. We’re not alone in this – all other local authorities are grappling with the same national financial challenges but we’re ahead of other councils in terms of taking a proactive approach.
"Offering seasonal reductions to car parking charges costs money in lost income, and in this current environment, our focus has to be on continuing to protect key vital services which safeguard and protect our most vulnerable people.
"As a result, we will not be offering parking incentives anywhere across the conurbation this Christmas."
They said they would be encouraging residents to 'Shop Local'.
The financial turmoil at BCP Council was spelt out last month in a scathing report from the local authority’s own auditors.
Read more: Christmas events and light switch ons in Dorset and Ringwood
Firm Grant Thornton has warned the council’s ability to set a balanced revenue budget for next year and beyond appeared “increasingly fragile”.
The annual Christmas Tree Wonderland will be the main attraction in Bournemouth town centre this year, while Poole will welcome a new Christmas Maritime Light Festival.
Christchurch will be celebrating the festive season with a special event on Saturday November 26.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel