Lindley Councillor Cahal Burke who in 2011 successfully fought off earlier plans to charge residents living around the HRI for parking outside their homes has re-launched his campaign on behalf of local residents.
Kirklees Labour Cabinet announced its plans to introduce a £30 charge per permit in its budget proposals for running the council in 2014/15 when it met on the 5 November.
9000 permits are currently issued by the Council with 1011 being issued to residents living on roads near the HRI.
The cost to local people would £15090.
Cllr Burke has launched a petition that can be accessed here: http://signme.org.uk/880
Cllr Burke said:
“The HRI is a major public service site that runs 24/7, 365 days year.
In terms of the Huddersfield area, this creates an almost unique set of circumstances for the residents living nearby.
I don’t think it is right for the Council to ask these residents – who show a great deal of goodwill to the hospital – to pay for permits without which they would find it almost impossible to park near their homes for the majority of the time.
I think the Cabinet needs to think about what local people put up with and to repay them by exempting them from the charge.
In fact, I think the Cabinet needs to give a great deal of more thought to this policy and whether it needs amending in other ways.
Their “one size fits all” approach shows little understanding of the diversity of our communities and little interest in talking to residents or shaping ideas to take account local issues. They only seem interested in the shortest route to increasing revenue for the council.
The hospital makes over £200k a year from their pay and display car parks, none of which goes to fund for patient care, but local residents are being asked to pay £15K to park outside their own homes across the road. It doesn’t seem fair.”
SIGN THE PETITION HERE: