Free parking row puts district scheme on hold
BBCPlans for free weekday parking across a district have been paused amid a row between a mayor and a council.
Paul Bristow, the Conservative mayor of the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority (CPCA), previously pledged £1.5m to trial free parking at certain times in parts of Peterborough and Huntingdonshire.
The scheme is operating in Peterborough, but plans to do the same after 16:00 in Huntingdonshire are on hold because Bristow said he had "lost faith in [the council's] ability to deliver" the scheme.
Huntingdonshire District Council said it had "worked constructively" to agree a plan but "the mayor has since changed his mind on the scheme he offered".
Free parking on weekdays after 15:00 at council-run car parks in Peterborough was introduced last month.
A similar scheme for free parking after 16:00 in Huntingdon, St Ives and St Neots had been agreed, although councillors expressed concerns that it might not be fully funded by the CPCA.
Bristow expressed his frustration about a lack of progress on social media and told the BBC he would now look at securing private sector funding.
"This is a council willing to turn down £750,000 to try and do something positive.
"They're doing this... by showing utter disinterest, not getting back to my officers - showing discourtesy and generally being grumpy about the whole thing.
"I know it sounds extraordinary that two bodies can't get on with one another to deliver something positive."
He admitted it would be "easier" to deal with the council over their managed car parks but said he would now consider private companies and other car parks.
"I will do this with or without [the council]," he added.
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Sarah Conboy, the Liberal Democrat leader at Huntingdonshire District Council, said: "No sooner had we agreed [the scheme] than the mayor then changed the goalposts and said that he wanted to vary the scheme.
"That requires us to go back through proper process, and the mayor doesn't accept that's what's required and doesn't accept that there is a lead time involved.
"He wants it now. I'd like it now, but the answer is, we have a proper process."
In a letter to Conboy, Bristow wrote: "Free parking is a promise that I'm determined to keep.
"I hope that Huntingdonshire District Council can engage constructively with CPCA officers to find a way forward that involves your key town centre car parks."
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