Cookstown car parking charges inclusion in Mid Ulster Council budgets queried by Councillor Trevor Wilson

A Cookstown councillor has queried the inclusion of income from parking charges in Cookstown in figures used by Mid Ulster District Council to help set the district rate for 2023/24.
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In papers presented to elected representatives ahead of the local authority’s special meeting to strike its rate for the new financial year, a raft of measures were included in relation to the council’s annual budget.

Among the measures agreed in support of Sinn Fein’s proposal to increase the domestic district rate by 7.3 per cent was support for the introduction of car parking charges in Cookstown which the council estimates will see its income increase by £100,000 a year.

Councillor Trevor Wilson asked why this was included given such a decision had not been approved by members of the council’s environment committee, telling the chamber he “does not think it is on” to include such an action in a decision on the district’s rates.

Cookstown town centre.  Picture: GoogleCookstown town centre.  Picture: Google
Cookstown town centre. Picture: Google

“Just on the £100,000 income from Cookstown car parking, my recollection of this issue is that it was not to be introduced, or thought about, until we had carried out a pilot scheme within Magherafelt,” he said.

“I am wondering, given the decision to implement a pilot in Magherafelt and review how that scheme has worked before making a decision on the introduction of parking charges in Cookstown was taken by elected representatives, if that £100,000 can be included like this without councillors taking the decision to introduce such a charge?”

Council’s Chief Executive, Adrian McCreesh told the chamber the £100,000 boost to council coffers is “based on the assumption the pilot scheme is implemented and successfully rolled out across Magherafelt”.

“What Cllr Wilson is saying about the charges in Cookstown being dependant on the Magherafelt pilot is exactly true and I do not dispute that,” said Mr McCreesh.

Councillor Trevor WilsonCouncillor Trevor Wilson
Councillor Trevor Wilson

“The outworkings of the scheme have not materialised yet but they will and they will be presented to the appropriate committee.

“The reason it is in front of us tonight is because it was agreed to do it last year as part of the estimate process but it was not enacted. It was not implemented, therefore we have to show it as a saving that was not realised and we have to make it a repeat expenditure item on the accounts this year.

“It is subject to a pilot scheme that will be rolled out and the results will presented to members but it is a pressure that was agreed and has not been implemented. Every time we do that and delay previous agreements it will keep coming back as an unrealised expenditure item until such time as members either agree to vote it out or implement it.”

Cllr Wilson said he was “totally against” car parking charges being introduced in Cookstown and said he was of the opinion such a charge would not be introduced in the town for the start of the 2023/24 financial year.

“Going on Adrian [McCreesh]’s comments, it will take a while for this to come in, therefore we have £100,000 in this budget that I honestly don’t believe we will realise this year,” he said.

“I am totally against car parking charges. We have fought for a number of years to keep them out of Cookstown, I appreciate we have to have a levelling up discussion but to bring it in on the back of a rates decision tonight. I don’t think that is on.”

Mr McCreesh advised the chamber that to remove the introduction of these charges from the council’s budget would leave the local authority needing to find £100,000 from elsewhere.

“If we remove that proposal then the our savings are reduced by £100,000 and our paper represents what we believe is a fair and accurate requirement,” he said.

“Car parking charges are applicable across all of Mid Ulster. It has not been applied in Cookstown but has in the towns of Dungannon and Magherafelt equally.

“This is something where there has been an unequal process over a number of years and we recommended it was implemented last year because we felt, and feel, it is the right thing to do in terms of fairness and the economics of the situation.

“It is not pleasant but it is the right thing to do and it is proposed tonight to be implemented as was agreed last year.”

Councillor Clement Cuthbertson reminded officers of the need for them to bring forward a paper on the council’s car parking strategy – something he claimed councillors have been waiting for since 2016 – before any decision on this issue could be made.

“To be fair to us all on the environment committee we have been waiting on the car parking strategy since 2016,” he said.

“We raised this at the rates meeting last year and the year before and I remember raising it in the committee on at least two occasions since 2016. Why has that paper, that piece of work by officers, not been brought forward?

“It has to come to a head and it has to be dealt with, if not we are going to be dealing with the same questions again next year.”

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