Published: November 8, 2012
'Scrooge' council rejects calls for free Christmas parking in Burnham

Sedgemoor District Council has this week been labeled a 'Scrooge' after turning down a request from Burnham-On-Sea and Highbridge Town Council to waive parking charges in the two towns during the run-up to Christmas.

Town councillor Chris Williams, right, asked Sedgemoor District Council to scrap parking charges for one week before Christmas Eve to encourage more people to shop for their gifts locally and support traders.

But the district council says it is unable to afford the request and told the Town Council it would only consider waiving charges briefly during a one-day event, such as the town's Christmas lights switch-on.

Cllr Williams told Burnham-On-Sea.com he is "disappointed" by the response, adding: "It does seem that Burnham and Highbridge have been 'scrooged' by Sedgemoor. Free parking should be possible for a week to help local businesses during these difficult economic times."

He added: "It would provide a small incentive to shoppers to come and buy at our shops in Burnham and Highbridge."

Burnham's Christmas lights switch-on is being organised for Saturday November 24th by the Chamber Of Trade. Sedgemoor is therefore being asked to consider waiving the parking charges for this event.

The council used to provide free parking in the run-up to Christmas in the two towns, but this stopped five years ago after the 2007 parking offer.