New Sunderland car park will be £millions down the drain unless prices are slashed

Lib Dems want an urgent re-think of parking charges at the newly-opened Riverside car park in Sunderland, arguing that current prices and no free parking after 3pm mean people just won’t use it.

Lib Dem councillors on Wearside have slammed Council bosses for lacking common sense when setting prices at the new 600 space Riverside car park which officially opened this week.

Customers will pay £1.50 per hour from 8am until 6pm and 90p per hour from 6pm until 8am.

This is the same daytime price - or more expensive - than existing city centre car parks at St Mary’s or Sunniside next to the cinema, despite the Riverside car park being a longer walk into town for shoppers and those visiting restaurants and bars.

Crucially, the car park won’t be part of Sunderland’s Free After 3 scheme which allows people to park in and around the city centre after 3pm without a charge.

Commenting, leader of the Lib Dems on Sunderland Council Paul Edgeworth said:

“As ever, Sunderland Council bosses just don’t seem to have any common sense. Unless they reduce parking prices and include it in the ‘free after 3’ scheme then the millions of pounds spent building this new car park might as well have been poured down the drain as no one will use it.

“The Riverside car park is already further away from many city centre shops and restaurants than the Council’s existing car parks at St Mary’s or the Sunniside car park next to the cinema.

“When you add in the fact that it isn’t cheaper to park there and the extra disincentive that you can’t park in this new car park after 3pm for free like you can everywhere else, it doesn’t take a genius to realise that people just won’t use it.

“Lib Dem councillors will be campaigning to get the ‘Free After 3’ scheme to apply to this new car park as soon as possible so that more people can be encouraged to use our restaurants, pubs and shops in the evening, keeping our city centre alive and thriving.”