A CALLINGTON councillor is calling for a rethink over new Sunday parking charges saying they are putting people off coming to the monthly town market. 

Cornwall and Callington councillor, Andrew Long said he and town traders were concerned at the negative reaction of those attending the first monthly market held since the new charges were introduced at the end of May. 

The local market is held on the first Sunday of the month, most recently last Sunday (June 4). 

Cllr Long said that ‘a number of the people who attended the market, both traders and residents, said they might not come back’.

He is urging Cornwall Council to reconsider the charges without delay over fears that they could damage the prospects for the market and for the town traders generally.

Earlier in the year, Cornwall Council announced plans to increase prices for council-owned car parks across the county. The new parking charges came into force last week, which in the New Road South car park in Callington have resulted in the scrapping of the town’s one-hour free parking and the introduction of Sunday charges, which has come under fire from local residents and councillors.

Councillor Long expressed opposition to the introduction of the new parking charges and in particular the removal of the one-hour free parking, and has now expressed fears that these charges are already negatively impacting the local market. 

‘We had a lot less people attending the market on Sunday because they were being asked to pay a minimum of £3 by the parking machines at New Road South Car Park,’ said Cllr Long. 

The charge for one hour parking in the New Road car park is supposed to cost £1 and it is thought that the £3 charge was a machine error, and Cllr Long is awaiting to hear answers as to why people were charged this amount. 

However, the councillor is continuing to plead to Cornwall Council for a review of the charges before it’s too late over concerns that the charges are going to negatively impact both local businesses and residents following the visible impact on the weekend market’s attendance.

Cllr Long said: ‘We warned the council that this would happen and that it would have a negative impact on customers and the vitality of town centres. 

‘Car parks are not supposed to be cash cows, so why are the council introducing car parking charges on a Sunday on non-tourist areas where the only people who are going to be impacted are local people. 

‘We don’t get tourists as such coming to Callington, so the only people going to be affected by the Sunday charges are people going to church or going to markets.’

He also highlighted that the new charges are not only going to potentially have an adverse affect on the Sunday market, but also local businesses who rely on local custom during the week. 

At the New Road South car park there was an agreement in place with the previous retailer that the business would pay the first hour’s parking.

However, Cllr Long explained that when the current retailer took ownership, the council failed to finalise the agreement that had been approved ‘in principle’ and following the council subsequently paying the hour’s parking for the past three years, the council have since cancelled the scheme.

Cornwall Council are set to review the charges next year. However Cllr Long feels isn’t good enough and he is calling for an urgent review to be conducted as a matter of urgency as a year ‘might be too late for the town  centre’. 

Cllr Long has written to the council’s portfolio holder for transport, Connor Donnithorne to urge him to rethink.

He is also pushing for the council to complete an impact assessment on the parking charge increases on market towns across Cornwall, not just Callington.