Why I'm Angry About the Sunday Free Parking

Firstly, just let me say here that I am all for the free parking initiative. I think it shows that the city council are doing their best to keep the city busy and thriving through difficult times. I know some councillors disagreed with the idea, but I'm sure their disagreement came from a good place. I firmly believe that Salisbury City Council is doing its best for Salisbury. And as for the money coming out of my own pocket next financial year, it's a £1.30 increase or something like that. I don't even drive; free parking in the city on a Sunday will make no difference to me in that respect. But I still support the decision, and will happily hand over my £1.30 if it means that next time I go shopping, I'll actually have a choice over which shops I go in. I don't want Salisbury to become a clone of every other town and city in the country. I like the fact we have quirky little shops you don't find in other places. I should imagine the tourists like that too.

At a time when even big, long-established high street names are dropping like flies, I really think local councils (city and county) should be doing everything they can to assist independent local business owners. I don't mean by shoring up their bank accounts, but by doing simple things like ensuring parking costs are not prohibitive. If Wiltshire Council have enough spare cash floating about to vote themselves a big old increase in allowances, can't they put a bit of it back into the city they rinsed it from in the first place? I think the free parking is a great way of getting more people - from Salisbury and from further afield - to come to Salisbury. I resent the fact that Salisbury City Council have had to pay for it from their funds, rather than Wiltshire Council just taking the hit.

Not only have Wiltshire Council failed to allow us actual free parking on Sundays, they've actually been out ticketing cars on "free" Sundays. Not content with the money Salisbury City Council are giving them for our parking, people who have parked in road-side bays have received parking tickets because the "free" parking only applies to the car parks, apparently. I'm baffled as to why that should be the case - and why Wiltshire Council should be sending its ambassadors out to do their job on a day when parking is supposed to be free! Had they already promised them the overtime or something? Or are they that lacking in Christmas spirit that they're prepared to agree to limited terms on a deal that would have seen them no more out of pocket in the first place, and still come after us for yet more money?

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