A BUSINESS owner said an elderly man broke his hip at a Penarth town car park that a council wants to starting charging people to park at.

Matt Holland, of Willmore's 1938 at Penarth Cliff Walk car park, told members of Vale of Glamorgan Council's environmental scrutiny committee at a meeting on Tuesday, 28 January, what he thought about plans to start charging at the site.

Penarth Cliff Walk is one of a number of car parks and off street locations that the council has agreed in principle to introduce new charges at.

As well as commenting on how much he expects business to drop as a result of the charging plans Mr Holland said the current car park at Penarth Cliff Walk is in a "pretty bad state of repair".

Among the problems there the business owner cited poor lighting, potholes and kerbs in random places, adding: "[An] elderly gentleman broke his hip there in November."

When pressed on this matter by scrutiny committee members council officials said it is their plan to fix car parks before they start charging people to park there.

However they could not guarantee that this will be the case.

Vale of Glamorgan Council's director of environment and housing, Miles Punter, said this was because the budget for 2025-26 has not been set yet.

The car parks that will see car parking charges introduced to them include:

⦁ The Knap Car Park (Barry) – 164 spaces

⦁ Bron Y Mor (Barry) – 67 spaces

⦁ Penarth Cliff Walk – 177 spaces

⦁ Portabello (Ogmore-by-Sea) – 25 spaces

⦁ West Farm (Southerndown) – 22 spaces

Business owners and residents have expressed their anger over the proposed car parking charges with two separate petitions in opposition to the plans – a Penarth-based one and a Barry-based one – having gained more than 5,000 signatures between them.

Scrutiny committee members heard at Tuesday's meeting how one business in Barry Island may have to close if charges are brought in and how traders were told by customers that they would not return as frequently if they had to pay for parking.

Mr Holland of Willmore's 1938 said he has experienced what bringing in parking charges can do to trade, referencing his own business which also operates at Cosmeston Lake.

Vale of Glamorgan Council started charging people to park at Cosmeston Lake, just outside of Penarth, in 2021. The charge reportedly doubled in 2023.

Mr Holland said the charge had a direct impact on his business, initially resulting in a 30% drop in the take on their trade. He said they also lost a full-time member of staff.

He added: "People aren't locally… willing to pay the charge.

"We used to have a very good trade between 8am and 10am… that has dropped drastically."

On-street car parking charges at Barry Island will affect Paget Road, Breaksea Drive, Friars Road, and Station Approach Road.

Parking charges at Penarth seafront will affect The Esplanade, Cliff Hill, Cliff Parade, and sections of Beach Road and Bridgeman Road.

One issue that business owners in Penarth and Barry Island picked up on was how much they rely on local customers during the quieter winter months and how much parking charges would affect this trade.

The owner of Scoop in Barry Island, Laura Devenport, said that if the parking charges come into place "I would be forced to close and move" and that "other businesses are in the same boat".

Coastal Coffee owner Jonathan Osborne said there was no consultation with business owners on the parking charge plans, adding: "The whole process is flawed and is being rushed through."

Louis Ross, owner of Barrybados, launched the petition against the proposals in Barry Island.

He referenced how the council U-turned on similar parking charge plans in 2019 and said: "I personally feel like I have been betrayed on this".

Again he said winter trade will be heavily affected by the charges, adding: "It is the locals who keep us going when there are no tourists on Barry Island."

Cabinet members and council officials again argued that the charges will help the local authority maintain facilities at popular seaside spots.

They also said it will help increase traffic turnover and clamp down on the problem of people parking at on-street locations for the whole day.

The current arrangement in place at the on-street parking locations put forward for charges is that drivers can park there for two hours free.

However making sure people adhere to this rule requires regular parking enforcement patrols.

One business owner we spoke to on The Esplanade in Penarth said the two hours of free parking was regularly abused and that bringing in a charge will help his business.

Sidali Rachdi of Severn View Bar Restaurant, said: "Every one of our customers who booked on the weekend, they were half an hour late.

"They come to tell us: 'We are trying to park'… and they try to find somewhere, drop… their kids in here and one of them goes to drive somewhere [to park]. It is a big issue. I think it is the capacity."

Mr Punter also said the council was aware of congestion in Barry Island at peak times and that charging for parking is something that could help alleviate this.

However one member of the scrutiny committee, Cllr Mark Hooper, contested this adding: "Barry Island is rarely congested and I live there."

Vale of Glamorgan Council cabinet member for neighbourhood and building services, Cllr Mark Wilson, said finding places for people to park in Penarth and Barry Island is "something we really need to be looking at."

He also said that his directorate has been given the task of saving £2.4m for 2025-26. In the next financial year the council will have to close an £8m budget gap.

Cllr Wilson said: "I understand where [businesses] are coming from.

"Equally though I have also got a budget that I have got to look at."

Vale of Glamorgan Council also said parking season tickets will continue to be available for residents, traders, and other frequent visitors.

Season ticketholders pay £2 a week to park at on-street locations.

The leader of the council, Cllr Lis Burnett, said there have been regular reviews of car parking in the Vale over the years.

She added: "In 2025, the proposals you see before you are as a result of… the abuse of the on-street parking spaces [where] we want to get turnover.

"We are listening.

"We will take [comments] back and consider it but when we have got people writing to us saying that their staff are parking all day in two-hour spaces then we have to see what we can do to get turnover of those spaces."

A council cabinet report shows that the local authority was initially looking at a charging schedule that could see drivers charged up to £10 but this now appears to have changed.

In a presentation given to scrutiny committee members council officers showed that the following charging schedule is being looked at for off-street parking:

⦁ Up to two hours – £2

⦁ Up to three hours – £4

⦁ Up to four hours – £6

⦁ All day – £8

The following charging schedule is being considered by the council for on-street parking:

⦁ Up to two hours – £2.50

⦁ Up to three hours – £4

⦁ Up to four hours – £6

At a meeting on January 9 council cabinet members also agreed in principle to the closure of Court Road Car Park in Barry town centre.

Vale of Glamorgan Council said the facility was costing it £80,000 a year to operate.

The local authority plans to maintain its policy of not charging for residential parking permits but plans to make them digital.

It said that this will reduce the current administrative costs of providing paper permits.