Parking charges at Tredegar Park and Fourteen Locks to be signed off

Pay and display machines and signage have been installed after the proposals were approved by Newport City Council in February.

Charges will apply between 6.30am and 4pm, seven days a week, and will cost between £1 to £5 depending on the length of stay.

But a formal notice of the proposed order displayed at both sites has invited a further 321 letters of objection from members of the public.

A report says: “All objectors have indicated that car parking should be provided free of charge, in order to support those on limited incomes who want to use the leisure facilities and to promote health and wellbeing.

“All objectors have indicated that the proposal is a disadvantage to the genuine park users.”

Other issues raised include the risk of increased parking and congestion in roads surround both sites, and reduced footfall affecting the viability of the Fourteen Locks Canal Centre café.

But the council say the objections raised have been answered within the report, and that none of them justify not proceeding with the charges.

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The report says: “The costs for parking any car for the first two hours has been set at a low value of £1, which we feel is the lowest charge that can be applied.

“All charges will stop after 4pm, which will encourage families to remain on site and enjoy the leisure facilities at no additional costs.”

At Tredegar Park, the charge would be £1 for up to two hours, £3 for up to five hours, and £5 for more than five hours.

Meanwhile at Fourteen Locks the charges would be £1 for up to four hours, £3 for up to five hours and £5 for more than five hours.

Blue Badge holders will be able to park free of charge providing they appropriately display their parking badges and abide by the parking restrictions.

The charges were considered as far back as 2017 when the council proposed car parking charges Belle Vue Park – which came into force in 2018 – with the option to extend them into Tredegar Park and Fourteen Locks.

Samantha Brunnock was one of three mothers who took it upon themselves to hand in letters of objection on behalf of residents concerned with the Tredegar Park proposals.

She said: “They’ve gone through the letters and have read what we have to say, but they’ve made their mind up already.

“It just seems pointless asking us for our views if they don’t listen.”

Volunteers and staff at Fourteen Locks will have designated parking spaces, while parking permits would be granted free of charge every Thursday for countryside volunteers.

But centre manager Kate Wickens, who claims to have submitted a petition with thousands of signatures to the council, remains unsatisfied with how the situation has been dealt with.

“Having staff car parking is fine, but we rely heavily on seasonal volunteers,” said Ms Wickens.

“We rely on about 52 seasonal volunteers but there’s no spaces for them, so they’ll be expected to pay for a full day’s parking come Christmas time. None of it adds up.”

A council spokeswoman said the petition was not received by the relevant department but the individual letters had been received.

Cllrs Roger Jeavons and Debbie Harvey, cabinet members for street scene and culture and leisure respectively, have been asked to finalise the charges on Thursday, August 22.