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Fri, 16 Apr 2021
Not charging people to use two council-run car parks in the capital is thought to have cost the authority tens of thousands of pounds
They were closed after tough new coronavirus measures were brought in by the government.
Shaw’s Brow and the Bottleneck Car Parks in Douglas remained open after another lockdown was announced earlier this year, however, they were made free of charge.
The decision was made to help out key workers who needed a parking space in the capital, and to minimise any risk of infection through queuing up for and use of the paying machines.
A number of people took to social media to criticise Douglas Borough Council for re-introducing the parking fees on Monday, however, council leader David Christian said they were brought back in as Covid-19 restrictions began being eased – and at a time when community spread of the virus was either at zero or near zero.
When questioned in the council chamber this week, Mr Christian confirmed the waiving of parking charges would likely cost the council between 30 and 32,000 pounds.
He did however say that with most businesses closed as a result of the lockdown it is possible that figure would’ve been lower.
However, he said people needed to start paying for the facilities again to bring income in for important services; and pointed out that there didn’t seem to be the same criticism of two government-run car parks in the capital, neither of which suspended charges during the lockdown.
Mr Christian rounded off by saying it was his wish that people were notified in advance of the car parking
charges being re-introduced and made his disppoint clear about that not happening.
A statement issued by the council earlier this week apologised for the lack of communication on the matter.
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