Tandridge District Council is cutting free parking in Oxted's Ellice Road car park to one hour from 15 November. From that date, after the first hour, parking charges will apply from 8am to 5pm, Monday to Friday.
The charges will be:
1 - 2 hours £1.50
2 - 3 hours £3.00
3 - 4 hours £4.50
Over 4 hours £6.50
The Council's original proposal was for 30 minutes free parking but after a joint campaign by the Oxted Traders Association and Oxted & Limpsfield Residents Group this was increased to one hour and the proposal to charge on Saturdays was scrapped.
But Tandridge District Councillors voted against 2 hour free parking despite a petition in favour with 5,435 signatures organised by OLRG with Oxted Traders which was presented to the Council by Oxted businesswoman Barbara McNaughton-Khattri who owns Elements Hair and Beauty Salon in the High Street.
OLRG will be monitoring the effects of the parking charges, particularly on businesses, and pushing for changes if they are needed.
The Council is bringing in the charges to raise money. This week, it announced that a ticketless barrier system will be in place at the Ellice Road car park from 8am on Wednesday, 15 November.
It said: "The Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) system will record the number plate of each car as it arrives and the barrier will automatically open. When visitors are ready to leave, they simply key their number plate into the payment machine and can pay using cards, coins or smart phones. The system will automatically give the first hour free. Council staff will be available in the car park for the first few weeks to help residents and answer any questions.
Residents will shortly be able to sign up for an online parking account. People who register will be able to drive in and out of the car park, without using the ticket machine. Payments will be deducted from a registered bank account fortnightly."
