Furious locals in seaside town accuse leftie councillors of 'punishing tourists' with plan to send parking prices soaring in time for summer holidays

• Southend-on-Sea would extend parking charges to 9pm under the proposals
• Hourly rates at Southend’s seafront would increase from £2.80 to £3 
• The cost of a full day’s parking would increase from £19.30 to £25 

Locals of a seaside town have slammed leftie councillors for proposing an increase to seafront car parking charges in time for the summer holidays and the rush of tourists.

The chargeable hours for parking would be extended from 6pm to 9pm, meaning a full day would increase from £19.30 to £25 – making it one of the most expensive resorts in the UK.

Hourly rates would also increase with the cost of two hours increasing from £5.50 to £6, under the proposal drawn up by opposition Labour, Lib Dem and Independent councillors.

The overhaul, which was opposed by the minority Conservative administration and is currently out for public consultation, also involves slashing car park charges by around 11 per cent in other areas of the city, partly to help high street shops.

But restaurants, ice cream sellers and tourist businesses on the seafront say it will unfairly deter people from visiting them.

Pictured: Tracy Grove and partner Jason Grove with grandchildren Cherry, five, and 23-month-old Poppy on their visit to Southend-on-Sea

The cost of leaving your car in the car park for a full day could increase from £19.30 to £25

Pictured: The seafront of Southend on an overcast day

Pictured: Carly Bridge, 39, (right), her son Leo Bridge, nine, and partner Kayleigh Wooding, 37, (left) on their day out

The opposition councillors  are trying to use their voting power to push the rise through, despite it being opposed by Conservatives who only have minority control of the council.

Dave Frost, 47, who is manager of the 92-year-old Rossi ice cream parlour in Marine Parade, said: ‘The car parking is expensive enough already.

‘A lot of people like to come down here after 6pm and have a stroll, but they are going to be put off if they have to pay.

‘I don’t drive, but a lot of people buying ice creams talk about the car parks, and say, “Do you know how much, I’ve paid?”.’

Paul Thompson, 50, who owns Pebbles One restaurant, said: ‘The whole seafront has worked hard to build up a nice evening trade – but that will be wiped out if they start charging for parking after 6pm.

‘At the moment, people are encouraged to come down in the evenings because of the free parking.

‘There is already a cost of living crisis with everyday people hit by high mortgage and energy costs. It is just unfair to get them to pay more.

‘They might come down once, but on the second time they will go somewhere cheaper. That’s human nature. It will kill off the night time economy on the seafront.

‘If you are parents with four kids and a pushchair, you are not going to be able to park in the city centre where it’s cheaper and spend half an hour walking down here.

‘It has been stated that lower charges for parking will boost business in the high street – so therefore the opposite must be the case here if the charges go up for us.’

John Carter, 79, who runs Neptunes restaurant around 200 yards from Southend’s famous pier, said: ‘It looks like they want to penalise visitors.

‘I have got 18 staff and a lot of them have to park their car to come to work. They can’t get permits and they will have to pay even more if there are charges after 6pm.

‘It is not practical for them to park in the city centre. There is also the question of some being vulnerable having to walk a long distance at night.

‘The council has to ask itself if it wants day trippers to visit us or not? People will pay reasonable charges, but they will stay away if they are too high.’

Nick Singer, 36, who is operations director for 15 seafront businesses, said: ‘I could understand it if the parking charges were going up across the city.

Paul Thompson, the owner of Pebbles One restaurant, said the evening trade would be ‘wiped out’ by the charges

The hourly rate on the seafront would increase from £2.80 to £3 and decrease by 11 per cent in  all other areas of the city

Connor Fleming, 23, who works at the Circus Circus amusement arcade on the seafront

The beach at Southend-on-Sea is very popular with day trippers when the weather is good in the summer months

‘But they are targeting the seafront which the tourists like to visit, and cutting charges elsewhere which is unfair.

‘The seafront is the biggest attraction in the city, whether people want to go bowling, eat fish and chips or go on the beach for a paddle in the sea.

‘But these parking charges are just a tax on tourists. It is 100 per cent going to make people stay away. The council should be showing more support for the seafront.’

Connor Fleming, 23, who works at the Circus Circus amusement arcade, added: ‘People are already paying a lot, even if they just come for a few hours.

‘The early evenings are busy for us at the moment because the parking is free. Bringing in charges in the evening will only put people off.’

Philip Miller who runs the Adventure Island theme park criticised the ‘pernicious’ bid to introduce evening parking fees, describing it as a ‘fine for working people’.

In a scathing email sent to customers, he said: ‘You want to have a good time at the seaside in Southend. And why not? If you live in Southend, you have a very exciting seaside to enjoy and love.

‘Yet it seems that the Liberal Democrat Party, Labour Party, and Independent Party don’t share your love for the seaside… It is just a hit on you, for enjoying yourself and a hit on the Southend tourist trade just for being there.’

Mr Miller urged local voters to ‘think about the upcoming local elections’, in an apparent thinly masked appeal to them to vote out councillors behind the plan for higher charges.

Special needs teacher Amy Green, 29, who was visiting with friends from Northampton, said: ‘We paid £11 for four hours parking, and that’s before you have anything to eat or drink, or go to an arcade.

‘If it wasn’t so much, we might have paid for five or six hours which would have meant we would be here longer and spend more.

‘It is definitely more expensive than at home. I have got family in Sunderland and it is 50p an hour or just £3 for a whole day.

‘We are trying to visit a beach every month this year as a fun thing to do. We did Sunderland in January, Hunstanton in February and Felixstowe in March – but parking in Southend is definitely the highest.

‘The council should think again before making it even more expensive.’

A day tripper who was eating fish and chips, and gave her name as Jemma from Romford, Essex, described the current parking charges as ‘extortionate’ and ‘terrible’.

She said: ‘We wanted to pay for four hours, and it was £11 – but we had just £9 in change so we had to mess around downloading the app to pay on that. I can’t believe they are thinking about putting the prices up even higher.’

Families enjoy the beach at Southend-on-Sea during a sunny day

Nick Singer, who operates 15 businesses on the seafront, said the proposed parking charges were ‘unfair’

Dave Frost is the manger of the Rossi ice cream shop

There are fears tourists will be driven away from Southend if the increased charges are approved

Nursery worker Kirsty Seager, 39, of Watford, Hertfordshire who was with her two children, mother and sisters said: ‘The parking here is expensive and I feel like it is creeping up every time we come.

‘We are regular visitors, and it doesn’t put us off at the moment, but if the charges go even higher, it might mean we leave earlier in the day, so we do not pay so much.’

DIY store manager Ricky Osler of Corringham, Essex, who was with his children Jenson, three and 12-month-old Ada, said: ‘Parking here for the day is more expensive than the shopping centre in Stratford.

‘It seems wrong. People come here to go to the beach, and it’s not normally the cheapest day out when you pay for something to eat and a couple of things.’

Carly Bridge, 39, who was with her son Leo, nine, and her partner Kayleigh Wooding, 37, from Milton Keynes, added: ‘The parking is already expensive.

‘We know you have to pay wherever you park, but it did surprise me. We have to pay £2 an hour at our local shopping centre – but this was a lot more.

‘If they start charging for parking in the evenings, people will just stay away. If they want to go out for something to eat, they will park for free in the city centre and eat there, so the independent places down on the seafront will lose out.’

Retired security guard Derek ‘Del’ McDonald, 68, of Hockley, Essex, said: ‘It will be just ridiculous if the parking charges go up to £25 a day. How can struggling families afford that?

‘I would never pay £25 for parking anywhere even if it was outside London Zoo. It is awful. I think they are just trying to bump it up because they are a city now and they think they can charge more.’

Bank worker Emily Morden, 43, of Leigh-on-Sea, Essex, who was with her daughter, said: ‘The parking costs would normally put us off coming down here – but luckily we don’t have to pay.

‘My mother-in-law lives near the seafront which entitles her to buy a booklet of parking permits which can each be used for one day. It means we can put one of her permits in the car and walk down to the beach.’

Sales manager Gary Montague, 40, of Berkhamsted, Hertfordshire, who was with his wife Cheryl and two daughters, added: ‘The proposed increases are a bit steep.

‘I paid £13.80 for five hours parking, and I didn’t really mind that. The council has to pay for the upkeep of the promenade and various public amenities, so I understand it, and I have no issues helping to pay for it.

‘It is always clean and tidy here, and the roads are in a lovely condition, so it is clearly a council that invests, unlike the rest of the country which is falling apart.

‘You come to the seaside to get some fresh air, so you expect to pay through the nose for it.’

Car sales company owner Tracy Grove of Chesham, Buckinghamshire, who was with her partner Jason Grove and their grandchildren Cherry, five and 23-month-old Poppy, said: ‘We had to drive two hours to get here for a family day out with the kids.

Retired security guard Derek ‘Del’ McDonald, 68, said the proposals were ‘ridiculous’

Gary Montague, 40, and his pet pug on their visit to Southend

Amy Green of Northampton said the council should ‘think again’ about the parking increases

‘We are used to paying a lot for parking where we come from, so the £13.80 we paid for five hours doesn’t seem too bad. It would be nice if it was less of course, but you expect to pay for things these days.’

Independent councillor Martin Terry, who is one of those behind plans to increase charges, said they were needed to help cover the cost of road repairs.

He said: ‘Southend’s roads are in their worst state for decades. We need the money to repair them. It’s simply immoral to give parking discounts to visitors who are using our roads.’

Mr Terry insisted the new charges were targeted at ‘day trippers’, while shoppers and businesses would benefit from reduced fees.

He added: ‘The roads are actually dangerous for pedestrians, cyclists and motorists, but there’s not enough money in the council’s budget to maintain them.

‘I think the traders are being rather selfish. I understand they want to look after their businesses, but the council has to look after the whole city. Why should residents be put in danger to pacify seafront traders?’

A Southend-on-Sea City Council spokesperson said: ‘In essence the opposition proposal (that was approved) is to increase charges in zone 1a to £3 an hour up to 6 hours and extend the charging time in zone 1a to 9pm.

‘Southend Pass holders (£125 a year) would be exempt from this 6-9pm charge, and can also use it for a further 3 hours during the 8am to 6pm period. It was also proposed to reduce parking charges across all zones other than zone 1a by 11.14%.’

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