THE National Trust’s charge for car parking at Wellington Monument has been revealed as £3 for anything more than two hours.

Up to two hours will cost £1, while Trust members can park for free by scanning their membership card – and each time they do so, the Trust will put £2 from its internal funds towards the monument’s restoration.

The pay and display parking plan has been criticised by Wellington town councillor John Thorne, who said it could undermine the goodwill of local people who had been supporting the Trust’s fundraising.

Cllr Thorne, who is also one of Wellington’s two county councillors, said the parking fees were a tax on local people who had previously enjoyed free access to the monument and the surrounding countryside.

He said: “For the Trust to say they will give £2 from their own funds every time a member visits just shows that they should have been able to find the £3.4 million for the monument restoration without the years of waiting and the calls for the public to contribute.

“They have 5.5 million paid-up members so they could have done it by giving 62p for each member not by levying £3 parking fees on local people who want to walk their dogs or enjoy a healthy stroll in the countryside.

“I think this is a poorly conceived move by the Trust and they should think again and remove the pay and display machine.”

The Trust’s consultancy manager for marketing and supporter development, Helen Sharp, said: “We are committed to the long-term future of the monument and its surroundings and it is for this reason that we are introducing the pay and display machine.

“It replaces the honesty box that has been there for some time.

“We want as many people as possible to come and enjoy this special site for generations to come and I hope the local community understand that it costs money to look after in the long term.

“I am hopeful, therefore, that rather than undermining the fantastic efforts of the local community, the introduction of a pay and display machine demonstrates our ongoing dedication to the care of the monument and ensuring that the benefits of their hard work fundraising for the project are sustained.”

Ms Sharp said the monument was given to the Trust in 1931 without any funds to look after it, while it cost £1,000 a year to empty the site’s dog poo bins and rangers spent about 200 hours a year litter picking and checking the area.