ATTEMPTS to make motorists pay for car parking in Wellington and other towns on Sundays have been further delayed by Somerset councillors while new surveys are carried out.

Somerset Council’s executive U-turned last December on its intention to introduce the controversial charges from April as it tries to avoid the authority going bankrupt.

Executive councillors said they would wait for the development of a ‘wider policy’ which would set out the ‘guiding principles’ for car parking across Somerset.

A promised county-wide parking policy principles document was put to a council scrutiny committee on Thursday (January 15) setting out how the authority proposed to ‘modernise’ its management of car parks.

Green Party group leader Cllr Dave Mansell, who represents the Wiveliscombe and Wellington Without area, said: “There are now to be extensive surveys on the use of car parks and for parking on-street.

“I was told there is no timetable for all this, as they want to get it right.

“My request was agreed for the need for residential parking to be included as part of the parking reviews.

“I also called for fairness in parking policies for shoppers and for parking not to be displaced to cause problems in other areas.”

Cllr Mansell said free car parks where the council wants to bring in charges, such as in Wiveliscombe and Milverton, would also be surveyed with the findings reported in follow-up meetings with local Somerset, town, and parish councillors.

He said public consultation would then follow where it was proposed to introduce new charges.

Cllr Mansell said: “The principles report will now proceed to executive, who had originally decided to introduce new parking charges in March last year.

“Our protest in Wiveliscombe at that time has prompted more care to be taken.

“There is now more to be done before decisions are finalised.”

The committee approved an approach for ‘whole town and community parking’ reviews to be carried out, and to also include residential streets where local people parked their vehicles.

Councillors also backed the principle of ‘tiered’ charges on Sundays, where motorists would have to pay more the longer they stayed rather than a flat fee.

Support was also given for ending cash payments wherever possible, and to the principle of introducing charges in currently free car parks.

Councillors were told the surveys would analyse data from the past three years of pay and display parking and payment machines which took the least amount of money would be removed.

A report to councillors said: “Cashless payments improve reliability and ease of use.

“Overall, adopting cashless parking aligns with modern transport management practices, enhances the user experience, and supports cost-effective, evidence-based operations.”

Proposals for currently free car parks which would ‘benefit’ from bringing in charges would ensure the fees were ‘fair, transparent, and supported by evidence’, while minimising disruption to motorists.

Consideration would also be given to preventing displacement parking to nearby streets and ensure the changes raised money for the council while causing minimal disruption to surrounding areas.