City parking scheme gets go ahead

The scheme aims to keep commuters from parking in local streets

An attempt to thwart plans to run a pilot scheme for residents' parking in two central areas of Bristol failed on Monday evening.

The city council said its scrutiny committee voted not to modify the plans nor refer them back to its own executive committee.

The move means the scheme will now go ahead as originally planned.

Brandon Hill and Kingsdown will now have parking restrictions to keep commuters away from streets.

Campaigners against the proposals had claimed most residents and businesses did not want to pay for parking permits.

Bernard Cooke from the Keep Parking Free campaign group said it would be "just another tax" for local people to pay.

He believes the scheme will merely shift the parking problems from one area of the city to another.

The areas will now have restrictions running from 0800 to 2100, Monday to Saturday with permits costing £30 for the first three years.

When the scheme was first suggested in November 2007, a council spokesman said: "The new scheme will provide an opportunity for the immediate neighbourhood to benefit from other road safety and traffic management measures."