A PORTISHEAD local has claimed that it would not be "appropriate" to impose parking charges in the town.

In a letter written to the North Somerset Times, the local writes: "The proposed parking charges North Somerset Council hope to impose on Portishead are simply not appropriate.

"Unlike Weston-super-Mare it is not a holiday town. It does not have a parking problem. Most retail outlets provide parking. To charge in the High Street would leave tiny net revenue after the cost of enforcement has been taken into account.

"It would have a highly detrimental effect on the High Street.

"Throughout the week the Lake Grounds – the only parkland area in Portishead - is used by people walking their own dogs, people taking gentle exercise and children using one of the very few playground areas. Many attend every day for a short time.

"To impose seafront parking charges would be crippling in cost to these users."

You can fill in the consultation questionnaire on the North Somerset Council website.

A North Somerset Council spokesperson said: “We want consultation feedback to give us a clear picture of how people park now, for example which car parks they use, how often and for how long.

"We also want the feedback to give us a sense of what residents think about possible parking charge price points, whether they prefer apps or pay and display meters, what challenges or obstacles parking charges could create, and what charge locations and short-stay permits could look like.

“We have already started to see themes coming through in consultation feedback and at consultation events, with people and businesses telling us how and why parking proposals might impact specific locations – this is important information as we look at developing the parking proposals, understanding what might work for one location, but not another. 

“At the end of the consultation, all feedback will be analysed and considered along with technical and expert advice.

"This will then be reported back to North Somerset Council’s Executive, who will look at the evidence as they try to balance the needs of different towns, residents, businesses and visitors, road and service users, along with other key issues such as parking enforcement, carpark maintenance and financial pressures facing councils.

“This is why it is so vital that we hear views from a range of residents, businesses and visitors now, so that we can ensure a range of thoughts, ideas and concerns are captured and considered in the report that Executive will use when deciding whether to progress the parking proposals.

“We’d like to assure residents that no decisions have been made on proposed charge locations, their prices, their hours of operation or the terms of the proposed short stay permit."