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More than 30 small businesses in Caerphilly County Borough have signed a letter calling for an extension to free car parking.
Parking at all council-owned car parks in the borough was made free until the end of this year due to the coronavirus pandemic.
However, Caerphilly County Borough Council, which introduced free parking in June this year, is facing calls to extend it until next July.
The letter has been sent to the council’s cross-party Car Parks Task and Finish Group.
What is the Car Parks Task and Finish Group?
The Task and Finish Group, which is chaired by Llanbradach’s Plaid Cymru councillor Rob Gough, is made up seven councillors (three Labour members, three Plaid Cymru members and an independent member).
The group compiled a report with ten recommendations – including the extension of free parking until March, increased CCTV in car parks and free parking on St David’s Day, as well as free parking at country parks, excluding Cwmcarn Forest.
The report will be debated by a joint scrutiny committee on December 15, before being presented to the cabinet for a final decision this month.
The letter has been submitted to the council by the Plaid Cymru group.
Blackwood town councillor Rhys Mills, who represents Plaid Cymru, said the policy is needed in order to “encourage people to come back into our town centres and help traders as they try to recover from this crisis”.
Cllr Mills said: “I have spoken to many small business owners over the past month and they agree that free parking is no longer a ‘nice to have’ – it has now become essential to their very survival.”
The council’s indepedent group has called for free parking to be extended until April.
In a letter to the council, independent councillors Kevin Etheridge, Andrew Farina-Childs, Graham Simmonds and Bob Owen said free parking would be a “first step to help traders, businesses and shoppers, with the long term solution to abolish charges completely”.
They added: “It is important we help all businesses in their time of need and ensure we look after everyone in our communities, with the high streets given priority treatment.”
Caerphilly County Borough Council has been contacted for comment.
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