The leader of Rother District Council (RDC) has declined to rule out the return of a controversial flat fee for parking at Camber Sands, saying the authority is undertaking a full review. At a full council meeting on Monday, September 18, council leader Doug Oliver, and cabinet member for tourism Hazel Timpe, faced public questions connected with the authority’s decision to charge a £30 flat fee for parking at the Central car park in Camber this past summer.
The tariffs, which were in place between July 3 and September 1, had come in for significant criticism from residents at the time, who argued it had deterred visitors and harmed businesses.
Among those to pose questions during the meeting was Sharon Blagrove, a former Bexhill town councillor who had set up a petition calling for an end of the flat fee. Mrs Blagrove said: “I haven’t spoken to any trader at all in Camber who was aware of this. It was really foisted on them all of a sudden. Nobody knew much about it and that is why they were very angry. This trial has proven beyond doubt to have been detrimental, not only to Camber traders but it also meant a big loss in revenue to RDC. Can you please confirm that in future charges will remain on an hourly basis for that car park … so that the traders don’t have to worry about this happening again?”
In response, Cllr Oliver said the council was undertaking a full review of the situation and weighing all its options. He did not confirm that charges would remain hourly. “Everything will be considered and officers [are] working on the data that we’ve recovered during this season. It is unfortunate that July was a very bad month, so we take that into account. There is also a cost of living crisis out there, which again may have impacted on things. We are going to look at every possible part of it. It is important that we do so for the benefit of our residents at Camber.”
The exchange followed on from the reading of a written question and answer on the same topic, which had been published ahead of the meeting. In his written answer, Cllr Oliver said the flat fee had been introduced as “a result of the wealth of historic public engagement between the council, residents, business owners, and visitors”. He added the flat fee had been introduced as a way of testing its impact on congestion in the area.
During the same meeting, Cllr Timpe was asked by local trader James Hyatt whether the council would consider providing financial compensation to businesses in Camber. She replied that the council would not, as the cost of parking was “just one element” affecting the seasonal businesses, pointing to poor weather conditions as another significant factor.
Image Credits: Robin Webster CC , Sophia-Lily Rose RN archive , Graham Robson CC .
So what are the ” normal ” charges that applied before and presumably now ? Anyone know ?
There is a conflict, surely, in raising the car park charge to such a level in order to reach an objective that is to “reduce congestion”. The fee will encourage car parking in the estate. It is simply an exploitative measure by the council. The council needs to consider whether the stealth tax will mitigate the loss of business rates should the businesses go under. The council should state more clearly why the increase was imposed, why the amount of £30 was reached and whether the spend of the profits made is in fact legitimate. It would be reasonable to expect a premium for the car park – but £30 suggests that the council is totally out of touch with the cost of living crisis.
I was in the area last July for a holiday with family .
I love this part of the world as i was showing my family where I was born in Hastings .
There was no way we could afford the parking at Camber but felt it such a shame not visiting such a unique place .