Leeds City Council responds after new parking ticket machines in Otley and Golden Acre Park vandalised
Newly-installed parking metres at two beauty spots in Leeds were vandalised just hours before the controversial charges were set to come into affect.
The charges at Golden Acre Park, Otley Chevin, Roundhay Park, Temple Newsam and Middleton Park, were introduced on Monday (February 10) and set at £4 for a full day.
But before they came into effect the machines at Otley and in Golden Acre Park were vandalised.
Leeds City Council has reported the incidents to West Yorkshire Police.
The plans to introduce charges were met with frustration when they were first proposed more than a year ago, with some warning they could damage business.
But the council has said that the charges come as part of ongoing efforts to plug a multi-million pound funding gap - and that the resulting income would help pay for improvements including new signage and resurfacing.
A Leeds City Council spokesperson said: “While we understand that not everyone is happy about the necessary introduction of parking charges, vandalising the machines is unacceptable, and we ask that anyone with information comes forward.
“The income raised from the parking charge is used to directly support our parks and vandalism of the payment machines will directly impact the visitor experience.
“Visitors will still need to pay the relevant parking charges. However, due to the vandalism, the number of payment options has now been limited at these two parks to pay by phone, the app, or via the purchase of a season ticket.”
A West Yorkshire Police spokesperson said that it was aware of the incidents and that there were increased patrols at the sites as a result.
A spokesperson said: “The incidents are under investigation and anyone who has any information that could assist in identifying those responsible is asked to contact officers via 101 quoting crime reference 13250078780 or online via the LiveChat facility.”