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Leeds Sunday parking charge plan scrapped
Plans to introduce Sunday car parking charges in Leeds city centre have been scrapped.
The council last month revealed a controversial proposal for a "nominal charge" at its 4,150 parking on-street and off-street parking spaces in the city centre.
The move was expected to raise an extra 600,000 a year.
Council chiefs said a Sunday charge could also help solve some of the city's parking problems.
Explaining the proposal last month, Coun Steve Smith (Lib Dem, Rothwell), executive member for environmental services, said: "The private sector already charges for Sunday parking and this arrangement causes congestion problems in the free car parks and on-street parking areas."
But some shopping bosses warned a Sunday charge could drive trade away to out-of-town retail centres.
Now the council has jettisoned the idea.
Coun Andrew Carter, council leader, said: "It was suggested that people could be allowed up to four hours of free parking and then charged if they stopped longer, but there's a point of principle here.
"If you introduce any sort of charge you break the principle of free parking on a Sunday.
"We are not going to do that because it is important to maintain free parking on Sundays in Leeds."
In a separate move, the council also looks likely to reject calls to charge householders for the introduction of "residents only" parking schemes.
The cost of introducing such parking areas is about 230 per space. Having carried out an inquiry into the system, the watchdog City Development Scrutiny Board recommends the council consider charging residents.
Its report will be considered next week by the council's Executive Board.
Coun Carter, who chairs the Executive Board, said: "The Scrutiny Board recommendations are simply not acceptable. We cannot further burden residents, particularly at a time of economic recession. While I appreciate the work the Scrutiny Board have put into this, they were not requested to do this piece of work and, quite frankly, I think it is unnecessary.
"I shall recommend that we do not accept the proposals of the Scrutiny Board, and we shall be instructing officers not to report further on charging for permits."
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Weather for Leeds
Saturday 11 February 2012
Today
Sunny spells
Temperature: -2 C to 0 C
Wind Speed: 8 mph
Wind direction: South
Tomorrow
Cloudy
Temperature: 2 C to 5 C
Wind Speed: 8 mph
Wind direction: North west
