The recent car parking changes proposed by Cornwall Council have received shedloads of criticism.

The elected representatives have listened to some suggestions but not others, so hefty car parking charges remain in place for Bude and many other places in Cornwall.

The Cabinet which met yesterday agreed:

1.  That the proposed revised Car Park Tariff Principles and Structure (from 1 April 2023) be supported, and public consultation be commenced with the proposed implementation being 15 May 2023.

2.  That authority be delegated to the Strategic Director of Sustainable Growth and Development, in consultation with the Portfolio Holder for Transport and the Section 151 Officer, to proceed to public consultation and finalise the proposed Tariff Banding Structure and charges.

For Bude, which is Zone A throughout the summer, and then falls into Zone B, doesn’t benefit. As Councillor La Broy says:

I spoke at Cabinet yesterday asking them to reconsider the proposals so that parking charges could be managed in a way that would actually benefit Cornish people. But as expected, this fell on deaf ears and was nodded through (I believe unanimously). This decision will have a damaging effect when it comes into play on the 1st April.

BBC Cornwall states:

Under the changes, charges in car parks in Zones B and C would only apply from 09:00 to 16:00 – the earlier proposals suggested charges would remain in place until 18:00.

There is also a reduction in the proposed fee for Zone B car parks – the previous plan said two hours of parking would cost £2.40 and three hours would be £3.60. These have now been reduced to £2 and £3 respectively.

Sadly, the proposal to introduce Sunday charges in all car parks and bring in evening charges in the top level car parks remains.

So, for BUDE (top level) in summer:

Zone A – 30mins (short stay only) £1.30; 1hour £2.20; 2hours £4.40; 3hours £5.50; 4hours £6.50; All day 9am to 6pm £10; Evening 6pm to midnight £2.50

This applies to Crescent car park, Crooklets, and Summerleaze Beach and Widemouth Bay.

Zone – B – Wharf Bude and Post Office Bude are Zone B all year round. Zone B – 30mins (short stay only) 60p; 1hour £1; 2hours £2; 3hours £3; 4hours £4.80; All day £6

Apparently, there is to be a consultation (after the decision has been made) which seems an utter nonsense!

The message the Council is giving out is:

Don’t come to Cornwall (especially places like Bude) and if you are local, don’t shop locally if you need to park in town. Dire.