Westminister Abandons Controversial Parking Plans
January 19, 2012
Westminster City Council has abandoned plans to introduce evening and weekend parking charges to Londons West End.
The plans, which would have introduced no parking on yellow lines and meters charging £4.80 an hour on evenings and Sundays, have been widely criticised since their proposals, and in particular by those working in the leisure and hospitality sector. David Coffer, Chairman of The Coffer Group, was hailed by Property Week today as one of the key voices against the scheme.
David Coffer, said: The plan was ill-conceived from the start and it was manifest for all the wrong reasons. The impact of these restrictions would have been so draconian to put licensed and leisure businesses, as well as retailers, out of business. I am so delighted that, in these times of difficulty and economic turmoil, that these restrictions have been averted.
The new charges were to be introduced on 9 January 2012 but were postponed after a High Court judge ruled that a judicial review could take place into the way the council carried out its consultation process around the charges.
According to the Centre for Economics and Business Research (CEBR), the planned charges would cost businesses in the area over £800m and threaten thousands of jobs.
Colin Barrow, who had been looking to implement the plans, resigned as Westminster Council leader at the end of last week.
