Wellington Meeting against Car Parking Charges

10.58.26pm BST (GMT +0100) Sat 24th Jul 2004

On 23 July, Wellington Town Mayor, Cllr Pat Fairclough, called a meeting at the Town Council Offices, to allow people to express their views on the proposed controversial new car parking charges proposed by Labour-controlled Telford and Wrekin Council for district centres in the borough. 120 local people packed the meeting, and feelings ran high, as it was generally felt these new charges would severely damage the fragile local economy, discourage shoppers, penalise the handicapped and those visiting the health centre.

"We are not like Wolverhampton or the other big cities. Don't impose big city solutions on small district centres" said one irate resident. The two LibDem Borough councillors who attended, Cllr Karen Tomlinson and Cllr Karen Blundell, both promised to vote against the charges next Wednesday, and received tumultuous applause from the meeting. Cllr Linda Hodson proposed a silent vigil on the street outside Malinslee House at 6pm, when the Council meets to vote on the issue.

The Mayor will take the 55 signed letters which protesters completed at the meeting to Malinslee House on Monday morning to present to the council leader, Cllr Phil Davis. These individual complaints will add to the thousands of signatures on petitions from all parts of the borough, which it is hoped will encourage the Labour councillors to vote against the imposition of parking charges in the district centres.