Proof that Salisbury's parking charges just don't add up

EVEN the government believes Wiltshire’s parking charges are too high.
With an eye on next year’s general election, John Glen’s boss, Communities Secretary Eric Pickles, has declared on a visit to Chippenham’s Tory candidate that councils are “failing in their duty” if they don’t give shoppers a free half-hour.
He said the same thing, apparently, at a meeting with Wiltshire Head Girl Jane Scott. How I wish I’d been a fly on the wall. Talk about Godzilla meets King Kong.
Just before Christmas – always the best time to bury bad news – Mrs Scott’s council quietly released figures that prove how counter-productive its parking policy has been.
They were set out in tables, in type so tiny I could barely read it with a magnifying glass.
Maths was never my strong point. But after a lot of adding, subtracting and head-scratching, I worked out that the £1.3million profit from city centre car parks in 2012/13 was more than half a million down on two years earlier, before the charges were hiked.
Income fell more than £200,000 and running costs rose by £325,000.
Income from street meters rocketed by £58,000, but so did costs, by £57,000.
And what were those costs, other than routine maintenance? Employing wardens and paying business rates to the government.
According to this document, on average only 10 per cent of spaces in Culver Street car park are occupied. In the Maltings and Central car parks, it’s a measly 31 per cent.
There is arguably some better news. The park and ride’s operating deficit has been halved.
But if Wiltshire’s half a million worse off from city parking, and still half a million out of pocket on park and ride, it’s no better off. And what’s the cost been to traders?
Support for bus services fell by almost £437,000 in the same two-year period, by the way.
I can only hope the 12,075 fines issued by our tireless ‘enforcement officers’ last year are being put to good use. Are we really so much more lawless than residents of Melksham, Trowbridge, Devizes, etc? Or just more punctiliously patrolled?
As a reporter back in 2011 I was heavily involved in the Salisbury Journal’s Show Some Sense campaign, which won a promise from Wiltshire to review its charges this year.
No date for the review has been fixed, I’m told. It certainly won’t form part of the spring budget-setting process, so don’t get your hopes up just yet.
But a general election on the horizon should help to concentrate minds. Expect more ministerial visits.