Controversial parking charges saga involving Sudbury, Hadleigh and Lavenham to come to an end as Babergh District Council decision due

A decision is due on a Suffolk council’s controversial proposal to introduce parking charges.

Babergh District Council initially decided to scrap the free three-hour parking element, costing £452,000, in Sudbury, Hadleigh, and Lavenham in April this year to address its £6.7 million budget gap over the next four years.

The decision was then ‘called in’, with the overview and scrutiny committee concluding it should be reviewed on several grounds, including further consideration of retaining at least one hour of free parking.

Next Friday, August 2, cabinet members are once again being recommended to approve the charges as initially planned.

Cllr John Ward, cabinet member for finance, said the council had explored every option and every recommendation made in the past six months.

He added: “We have fully debated and scrutinised this issue. However, after this huge amount of work, the recommendation to cabinet remains that we introduce modest, short-term charges – and do not implement one-hour free parking, as we cannot afford to.”

The one-hour free option would still cost the council £644,000 over the next three years

As it stands, the proposals include the introduction of a £1 charge for one hour in short-stay parking — capped at four hours — and two hours for a long stay, increasing by 50p increments each additional hour.

In Sudbury and Hadleigh, the cost for all-day parking would reduce from £3 to £2.50, including parking in Great Eastern Road (Roys) and Magdalen Road, which are proposed to change to long-stay parking.

The changes have been hugely controversial, with a petition calling for them to be scrapped reaching more than 10,500 signatures.

Representing Lavenham, Cllr Paul Clover, who launched the petition, said he doesn’t think introducing the charges will make a significant dent in the council’s funding gap and will end up harming local economies.

He added: “If it means its bringing money into the local economy, I would call that an investment, not a subsidy.”

“These are public servants and they’re not serving the public interest of the people — the petition clearly shows the strength of feeling against this.”

Proposals would also include freezing the cost of a season ticket at £250 to supporting workers who need to park all day, and refunding users of the council’s leisure centres in Sudbury — including Roys — and Hadleigh.

The council’s leader, Deborah Saw, said: “We do not believe High Street success is defined by parking charges.

“It is decided by many factors, including what they offer residents and visitors – and we believe our towns offer a huge amount and are worth a modest parking fee to visit.”

If approved next week, the new charges would be introduced before the end of the year.