New parking charges set for Sunderland commuter hotspot near St Peter’s Metro
Commuters face a new £3.50-a-day parking charge at a popular Sunderland parking spot under plans being progressed by the city council.
The local authority wants to introduce around 14 chargeable parking bays at the northern section of Bonner’s Field, near St Peter’s Metro Station and the Wearmouth Bridge.
A council investigation has found that the area is typically used by long-stay commuters, and the changes aim to regulate parking demand, encourage a turnover of vehicles, and provide convenient parking facilities for visitors and local businesses.
A report by the city council adds that due to the recent changes surrounding Riverside Sunderland and the Sheepfolds, it has been decided “parking control on Bonner’s Field will be required to allow better use for all of the available space”.
The proposed charges for the bays, which will be pay-by-phone only, will be 80p per hour or £3.50 a day.
The proposal also includes new hatching at a junction on the street to improve visibility and a reduction in the length of existing waiting restrictions to increase parking capacity.
A traffic regulation order (TRO) linked to the proposals went before the council’s planning and highways committee on Monday (September 7), due to a public objection.
The member of the public did not object to the introduction of chargeable parking at Bonner’s Field, but instead raised concerns about the “absence of alternative payment methods, specifically pay and display machines”.
It was claimed that the plans could potentially exclude people who “do not have access to, or are unable to use, a mobile phone.”
The council’s response, outlined in a report, said the “pay-by-phone system represents the most appropriate and cost-effective payment method for this location, given the small scale of the scheme and the significant installation, maintenance and cash collection costs associated with traditional ticket machines”.
The council added: “It is considered unlikely that this location would be routinely used by motorists who are unable to utilise mobile payment technology as their preferred city centre parking destination, and alternative parking facilities offering different payment methods remain available elsewhere.”
A decision at the planning and highways committee not to uphold the public objection means the traffic regulation order, and associated pay by phone bays at Bonner’s Field, can progress.