ON-street parking charges in Warrington town centre, bus lane enforcement and cashless parking look set to be introduced following the borough council’s decision to award a contract to a new parking service provider.
The seven-year contract has been awarded to NSL – a successor company to National Car Parks (NCP) set up in 2009.
It will enable the council to make savings of £80,000-a-year – suggesting that parking services in the borough will still run at a loss of around £27,000-a-year.
Under the long-established former provider, APCOA, the loss was £107,000 in 2011-12, although it had previously been more than twice that.
NSL will assist the council in implementing Warrington’s parking strategy which includes the introduction of advanced payment methods such as cashless parking, bus lane enforcement, on-street parking charges in the town centre, electronic parking permits and the use of dynamic parking apps.
Cllr Linda Dirir, executive board member for highways, transportation and climate change, said: “NSL are a progressive and forward thinking provider and have a proven track record of providing additional environmental enforcement services – such as dog fouling and littering – to local authorities through the use of body-cameras.
“To actively prevent the misuse and abuse of blue badges, civil enforcement officers will also be trained to identify and enforce their fraudulent use which may result in the seizure of blue badges and a fine being issued.
“We are also looking forward to working with them to implement a range of services set out in the parking strategy for Warrington.”
Mark Hoskin, NSL’s local government director, said: “We are very much looking forward to working on behalf of Warrington Borough Council and in sharing our ideas and expertise for the benefit of the town, to ensure parking is safer and fairer for all.”
Currently, on-street parking in Warrington town centre is free, but in most places is restricted to half-an-hour.
This is widely criticised by the business community for not giving shoppers sufficient time to complete shopping trips.
The council’s new parking strategy was approved following public consultation and is said to aim to operate on a “break-even” basis.
On-street charging as council awards new parking contract
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Gary Skentelbery
Experienced journalist for more than 40 years. Managing Director of magazine publishing group with three in-house titles and on-line daily newspaper for Warrington. Experienced writer, photographer, PR consultant and media expert having written for local, regional and national newspapers. Specialties: PR, media, social networking, photographer, networking, advertising, sales, media crisis management. Chair of Warrington Healthwatch Director Warrington Chamber of Commerce Patron Tim Parry Johnathan Ball Foundation for Peace. Trustee Warrington Disability Partnership. Former Chairman of Warrington Town FC.
