CAR PARKING charges in Solihull are set to be temporarily scrapped to help businesses during the coronavirus pandemic.
Council officers are working with environment portfolio holder Coun Ken Hawkins to lift the council’s charges in Solihull town centre, Knowle and Shirley.
Solihull council has seen a 90 per cent fall in car park revenue since the start of the pandemic, it said.
Takings have gone from £200,000 per month to just £2500.
It believes the remaining revenue from parking comes from people shopping for essential supplies and key workers who cannot work from home.
Grocers in Mell Square have also called on the council to suspend parking charges, as these require shoppers to use ‘pay on foot’ ticket machines.
The machines are now considered a safety risk by the council, an officer said: “It is not practical to clean the equipment after every transaction has taken place and therefore, there is a potential risk of coming into contact with someone who may have the virus.”
Free parking would also be set indefinitely. The council added: “It is not seem appropriate to set a specific fixed time period for the suspension of charges at this stage, and instead wait until evidence of economic recovery is available on which to base a better informed decision on when to reintroduce parking charges.”
Though the council understands in would take a £10,000 hit with the move, it hopes to recover funds after its financial monitoring of coronavirus actions.
