In response to the above Epetition, Warwick District Council provides surface and multi-storey car parks in and around the District, namely Warwick, Leamington and Kenilworth.

In response to the Government lockdown at the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, our car park charges were temporarily suspended.  However, the car parks remained open, but there was a drastic fall in vehicle numbers as people adhered to the initial social distancing guidelines as well as a loss of revenue to the local authority.  Social distancing measures had been introduced in our lifts and stairwells where possible with appropriate signs and reminders to enable people to stay as safe as possible.  Car park income is an important factor in relation to the Council’s ability to meet the costs of running the car parks and their related services.  During this time our WDC Rangers remained active and were also able to assist with the production and delivery of over 3,000 food parcels for the most vulnerable in our community during the height of lockdown.

Following announcements by the Government of the gradual lifting of restrictions, permission was granted for non-essential retail to open on Monday 15 June.  The footfall steadily started to increase in our town centres as people started to return to work and to visit the shops.  Following on from that, pubs and restaurants and other retail were given the go ahead to open.  WDC continued to temporarily suspend parking charges for a further period until 1 August 2020 to allow businesses and shoppers to become accustomed to the new safety arrangements put in place on our high streets.  Some other areas of the country resumed parking charges in June and July.  

The District’s roads and parking facilities need to be used correctly to ensure traffic can flow as freely and safely as possible.  Charging for parking and enforcement ensures that everyone has the chance to access these businesses by encouraging the turnover of the spaces and provision of accessible parking.  The use will be kept under close review.

A number of important factors have been considered in making the decision to re-introduce charging.  These include our current work to encourage and enable people to safely and confidently visit our town centres; the need to manage parking behaviour, and the need to return to charging for car parks in a manner that supports and contributes to the economy of Warwick District that supports steps to reducing carbon emissions in line with our Climate Emergency declaration.

It is not our wish that anyone should feel put off from using our car parks as they are no longer free.  Public health and safety is clearly a priority and we acknowledge that some people are wary about using, or queuing at, the pay and display machines.  The Council is urging anyone parking to use the cashless contactless systems of our machines or by using the RingGo app on a mobile device to avoid the handling of cash, there is the option to call the RingGo number to pay over the phone too.  If these facilities are out of the reach of some of our customers then I would like to assure everyone that our machines are routinely cleaned every day as well.