Controversial parking charges in country parks have brought in tens of thousands of pounds less in revenue than originally forecast.
Freedom of Information requests by Plaid Cymru have revealed that in 2015/16, £59,270 was brought in at the five parks – compared to original forecasts of £85,000 before the scheme was introduced.
Visitors are charged up to £3 a day to park at Parc Cwm Darran, Parc Coetir Bargoed, Pen y Fan Pond, Parc Penallta and Sirhowy Valley Country Park.
Cllr Colin Mann, leader of the Plaid Cymru group on Caerphilly council, said he feared the charges had put many people off from visiting the country parks –while some visitors left their cars outside entrances, where possible, to avoid paying.
He said: “When this charging regime was proposed, I questioned whether the new charges would bring in anything like the revenue forecast in the report to cabinet in July 2014.
“These figures provide the evidence that the council is failing miserably to hit their target.
“My view remains that this scheme was short-sighted and it appears that many people have voted with their feet and are not visiting our country parks in the numbers expected because they are put off by the charges.
“While some may be parking outside country parks, where possible, to avoid this charge.”
The council spent almost £20,000 in buying and installing the ticket machines.
More than 2,000 residents had signed a petition against the charges when they were first announced in April 2014 – but the council pressed ahead with the scheme.
A spokeswoman for Caerphilly County Borough Council said: “Our country parks remain extremely popular places for people to visit and enjoy, and over the last year we’ve seen a significant increase in the usage of each of our country parks.
“We’d reiterate that for people who make regular use of the parks, there are a range of options for car parking – annual season tickets can be bought for £50, or £25 for six months, equating to less than £1 per week”.
I can’t remember who it was but someone on this very forum predicted exactly this outcome.