LEADING Thurrock councillors have backed down in the face of a concerted protest about imposing car parking charges that might impact on the use of sports facilities in South Ockendon.

But they are forging ahead with plans, first highlighted Nub Nub News last year, to implement a full range of regular charges across a number of other sites which include country parks such as Coalhouse Fort and Langdon Hills.

The issue was debated at a recent meeting of the council's cabinet when portfolio holder for highways and transport Cllr Ben Maney presented his report.

Cllr Maney told his Conservative colleagues: "Thurrock Council owns a large number of public car parks across the borough. Currently the use of those car park divides into two categories. They are either pay and display sites subject to tariffs or they are completely free and unrestricted and the council has no control over how long people park there and frequently they do park for hours or days at a time.

"The real issue is that the condition of some of our car parks have been deteriorating and they've really reached the point now where intervention is required and if we don't invest in some of our car parks there is a real risk they will have to be closed. That's not over-egging it."

Cllr Maney said some of the car parks were proving costly to the council.

He said: "Some of them are dangerous and the council has had four compensation claims made against it and that resulted in £24,000 of compensation being hand out. It's simply not a cost we can sustain.

"This isn't a decision we've taken lightly. We have looked carefully at the sites where we are proposing charges.

"Money is ring-fenced for parking services so the intention is to use the funds to improve car parks across the borough. There will be an improvement to those sites before we intend to use them."

Cllr Maney stated that he and the highways and transport team had considered all of the car parks in the borough before submitting the proposals, and sites that did not support local businesses and were mainly for recreational usage were being proposed as additional pay and display sites.

Plans for South Ockendon, which had been heavily criticised by users of the town's recreation ground, were to the fore and Cllr Maney said officers had now determined that sites such the Rec might be suitable for permit parking areas, or for additional land, not formally part of the car park, being used as parking for the site.

He added he was also proposing limited tariffs for South Ockendon Recreation Ground outside weekday peak hours.

He stated officers were also considering a season ticket for country park users, such as at Langdon Hills, which would reduce the price they would have to pay to park.

He felt that the team were doing what they could to further discussions with service users, and any additional income made from the pay and display sites would be ring-fenced for the maintenance of those car parks.

He added that any necessary remedial works on the car parks would be completed before the pay and display tariffs were implemented. He stated that it was difficult for officers to determine how much income would be generated from the additional pay and display sites, as there was currently no data regarding car park usage, but officers were estimating £160,000 could be generated for council car park maintenance.

He concluded by saying that he would be urging officers to use automatic number plate recognition (ANPR) technology to enforce parking charges, as he felt it would increase the authority's income

Sports users at South Ockendon had lobbied to council to have a rethink and council leader Cllr Rob Gledhill said their views had been taken into consideration as he said the cabinet had listened to their views and were therefore proposing that tariffs were limited at South Ockendon Recreation Ground.

Cllr Maney stated that the times for the tariffs had not yet been agreed, but felt the limits would benefit users of the site.

He added that the Council had received complaints from local residents and members of the public regarding commuters using South Ockendon Recreation Ground car park to park their cars before catching the train to London or working in nearby offices.

He felt that the tariff times would ensure that the car park was only utilised by those people using the site, rather than commuters, and would therefore benefit local sports clubs.

South Ockendon ward councillor and cabinet member Andrew Jefferies asked if the portfolio holder had considered the wider problem of commuters parking in residential roads surrounding the train station.

He asked if residential parking permits had been considered. Cllr Maney agreed South Ockendon did have problems with commuter parking in residential areas and stated that he would ask officers to look into this issue, and would suggest a parking permit area in roads near to the station.

Cllr Gledhill proposed an additional recommendation which read: "The tariff proposals, outlined in 2.6 of the report and in regards to the South Ockendon Recreation Ground, will be agreed following further consultation with members of the public and sports ground users."

Cabinet unanimously agreed with the additional recommendation.

Cllr Gledhill invited Mr Cliff Cansdale, the General Secretary of Belhus Cricket Club, to make a statement regarding the report.

Mr Cansdale felt the additional recommendation, which could limit tariff times and days at South Ockendon Recreation Ground could be workable for local sports groups and visitors. He stated that he could not speak on behalf of other sports groups, but thanked Cabinet for their proposed recommendation.

Cllr Maney stated that he would be happy to meet with members of the sports clubs at South Ockendon Recreation Ground if necessary, and welcomed any feedback from members of the public.

Following the cabinet's approval, charges from £1 for an hour up to £6.50 for six hours are set be introduced, which could bring in an estimated £160,000 a year in fees.

The council will offer an annual parking season pass at a charge of £75. This will entitle the season pass holder to park for up to three hours at Coalhouse Fort, South Ockendon Recreation Park and Langdon Hills Country Park.