SOUTHEND Council could become the first authority in the country to bring in permits to allow residents to park in the borough at a discounted rate. 

There are plans to completely overhaul all of Southend Council’s parking polices and introduce a scheme which will see residents living across south east Essex pay a set fee to park at a discounted rate.

The refresh of parking across Southend will be discussed by council leaders tonight and the council’s deputy leader has described it as an “intensive review” that will simplify the way parking is handled in the borough.

Under the plans, motorists would be able to park anywhere in the borough for up to three hours at a discounted rate and deputy leader, Ron Woodley, says he wants the scheme to be available for residents in Southend, as well as places such as Castle Point and Rochford.

The review will also look at the authority's policies on electric vehicles and charging points, a review of residents’ permit schemes, pavement parking and parking enforcement.

All of these polices will be reviewed and updated over the next six months and being coming into effect between April and September 2020.

Mr Woodley said: “We have been making changes in a piecemeal way, opting to increase parking charges by certain amount in one area, scrapping one hour parking fees and replacing them with two – doing things this way is not doing anything for anybody.

“We have just been tinkering at the seams but we now need to get an all round set of policies. When you do it piecemeal, you don’t know if that tinkering is having an impact elsewhere.”

Mr Woodley went on to say the new polices would involve discussions with community groups, businesses and seafront traders, with feedback helping shape the council’s new policies. Consideration will also be given to the environment, safety, public transport and resident parking.

In a council report published ahead of tonight's cabinet meeting, it is noted that there are concerns within the community that the council is “anti-car” and due to “significant criticism” doing nothing is not an option.

In 2018, the council undertook a survey which revealed that three of the top five issue raised about living the are were highways related and parking related.

One person who has been highly critical of the way the council has handled parking is the former chair of the Seafront Traders Association, Paul Thompson.

Mr Thompson said: “For the economy to grow we need more visitors and shoppers which means we need more capacity for cars to park. They need to be able to access these spaces easily.

“Removing traffic lights should also be a priority. Victoria Gateway should be put back to a roundabout and The Deeping reopened. The Queensway underpass must remain in place with two lanes in either direction.

“Essentially, I believe council officers will just delay this and have meetings about meetings so that nothing is done. Meanwhile congestion increases due to the anti-car policies.”