Parking is key to town centre vitality

4.05.00pm GMT Sat 18th Mar 2006

The Liberal Democrats understand that parking is key to economic vitality in our town centres, explains David Lovell:

Despite promising free parking at the local elections, Warminster Tories on the district council voted last year to nearly double parking charges. Small businesses and residents have been feeling the effects ever since. They provided a token "free hour" on just some car parks, but this mainly led to confusion and disappointment. They then set a budget for this year which was dependent on income from those parking charges.

In May, the Lib Dems took control of the council, but also inherited the Tory budget. We listened to Warminster's concerns and started discussions with members of the town council - including Cllr David Lovell, on how we could put things right. Importantly we brought a new source of funding to the table - the 'Five Towns' fund.

Working together with the town council has brought results:

Two hours free parking in major Warminster car parks and a clear commitment to work to secure the economic vitality of the town.