A CALLINGTON-BASED Cornwall councillor has joined forces with local shop owners and launched a passionate fight back against new first-hour parking charges that both he and affected traders have described as ‘maybe the final nail in the coffin for a small market town’.

Cornwall CouncillorAndrew Long, Mebyon Kernow’s respresentative for Callington and St Dominic, also Callington town councillor, has been working with traders and the town council to coordinate a fight back against Cornwall Council, following its decision to introduce new car parking charges in Callington’s two main car parks on New Road.

Cllr Long said: ‘Cornwall Council had a ready-made deal with a major retailer to continue the town’s one hour free parking policy, which was vital to provide an incentive to visit the town centre but somehow, they managed not to complete the deal. Now we are having to bear first hour charges which are already destroying the vitality of the town centre.

‘This, along with the introduction of Sunday charges, is a punitive attack on the vitality of the traders in the town. It goes against every policy the council alleges to support about protecting town centres. It’s an awful decision that can only serve to attack hard working local people’.

Cllr Long met with representatives from Cornwall Council’s parking services earlier this year to raise concerns over the simplifying of charges across Cornwall and the stopping of the one hour free parking, stressing the importance of early consultation and the need for a strong response from residents of Callington and the surrounding areas.

Local traders have been equally as vociferous in their opposition to the new charges. Vicki Brett, owner of Dogsbodies Pet Shop opposite the main New Road south car park, said: ‘Our shop has served Callington and the surrounding areas for over 30 years, after a very tough time economically finding out the incompetence of Cornwall Council’s parking department for not charging B&M the agreed subsidy for the last four and half years leaves me in utter disbelief. The new parking meters were installed half way through the so-called ‘consultation’, attempting to start car parking charges well before the final decision was made’.

Vicki’s views were echoed by Tricia Stephenson, who runs Victoria Eaton store on Fore Street. She said: ‘The decision to enforce the charge for one hour of parking, which has traditionally been subsidised, is the final nail in the coffin for many small businesses and a betrayal of the local people who use them. This is purely local people and community being penalised and we will soon be past the point of no return’.

The campaign against the increases is gaining momentum; a petition calling for the return to pre-March charges has reached the requisite threshold to be debated at council again, with Cllr Long and others are encouraging traders to mount pressure on Cornwall councillor Connor Donnithorne, portfolio holder for transport, to change his mind and reverse the decision made.