Rule makers in Shropshire appear to be heading in different directions over the issue of how much to charge people to park in local town centres.

The Shropshire Star has explained town councillors in Oswestry are due to meet this evening (April 9th) to talk about reducing the cost of parking in the main Central car park by 10p. However, this is in stark contrast to Ironbridge, where 20 per cent increases are planned.

Last year, a 10p rise in parking charges in Ellesmere caused controversy and led to many people complaining.

However, in that case, Shropshire Council had a reason for implementing the increase, as it was trying to prevent the town's main car park being used as an all-day parking option so that it would instead be available to local shoppers.

Councillor Chris Schofield said he believes a reduction in parking tariffs in Oswestry to just 50p could be enough to encourage people to visit the town centre and use nearby shops.

"Oswestry's retail centre is looking good at the moment and anything we can do to encourage more shoppers must be good," he stated.

Shrewsbury councillor and retailer Peter Nutting said he would like to see changes to the amounts people are asked to pay for parking in Shropshire.

"The aim is to make it more flexible for people to pay their car park charges. I would like to get away from the idea of paying £1.60 or £3.10 for example. Why not make the charges £1 or £2 or £3?" he explained.

No matter where parking changes occur, it is always a good ideal for local authorities to bring in people in parking jobs to implement the rules in a fair and transparent way.

It is important to balance the need for revenue with the wishes of local businesses, which rely on customers to drive the local economy.

If you'd like information on parking jobs, or how to recruit parking candidates, get in contact with Unity Recruitment.