Fury in beautiful UK city over plans to ‘charge people for praying’
Churchgoers in a beautiful UK city are up in arms over plans to hike Sunday parking charges, accusing the council of penalising people for praying. Wiltshire Council has launched a consultation on plans to replace a £1.90 all-day flat rate for Sunday parking in Salisbury with a fee of around £5.90 for three hours. The Liberal Democrat-run local authority said the changes formed part of a "financially sustainable" parking plan, with tariffs last updated in 2022.But locals have argued that they are being "charged to pray" in the southwest England city, putting an added burden on congregations. Sue Gilbert, who attends Salisbury Methodist Church, also said the fees would cause turnout to drop, while Reverend John Proctor, of St Osmund's Church, warned that the impact would be significant, with up to 600 people coming to church over the course of four services each Sunday.Revered Proctor told the BBC: "Those who are struggling already will have to decide what they can give to the church to cover all the running costs and all the activities we do."Philip Richter, pastoral lead at Salisbury Methodist Curch, added that bus provision in the city was insufficient to cater for churchgoers from nearby villages, who rely on short-stay £1.90 parking, which could rise by an extra £4 under the plans.Salisbury is already the most expensive place to park in Wiltshire, something council leader Ian Thorn has acknowledged as a "long-standing issue" which he pledged to address as a "question of fairness".A consultation on the changes, which could also see charges apply between 7am and 7pm, rather than the current 8am until 6pm, will close on May 5.Councillor Martin Smith, cabinet member for highways, said: "We are encouraging residents, businesses and community groups from across Wiltshire to share their views on these proposed changes to parking tariffs."Parking charges in Wiltshire have not changed since 2022, despite significant inflationary pressures during that time, so we feel that these proposals are fair and that they remain in line with charges in nearby authorities.""This consultation is an important part of shaping a parking service that is fair, modern and aligned with the county's long-term transport and environmental ambitions," he added.
