Huntingdonshire Free Parking Scheme Put on Hold After Council Row

Free Parking Plans Delayed for Huntingdon, St Ives and St Neots

Huntingdonshire Free Parking Scheme Put on Hold After Council Row Plans to introduce free weekday parking across parts of Huntingdonshire have been put on hold following a dispute between Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority mayor Paul Bristow and Huntingdonshire District Council. The proposed scheme would have provided free parking in council-run car parks after 16:00 in Huntingdon, St Ives and St Neots. Free parking plans delayed Bristow had previously pledged £1.5m to trial free parking at certain times across parts of Peterborough and Huntingdonshire. The scheme is already operating in Peterborough, where free parking after 15:00 on weekdays was introduced last month. However, the planned Huntingdonshire scheme has now stalled, with Bristow saying he had “lost faith” in the district council's ability to deliver it. The mayor said the council was showing “disinterest” in progressing the plans and told the BBC he would consider securing private sector funding instead. Council says proper process is needed Huntingdonshire District Council said it had worked constructively to agree a plan but claimed the mayor had subsequently changed the scheme he had offered. Council leader Sarah Conboy said the authority had agreed to the original proposal before the mayor changed the arrangements. She said varying the scheme required the council to go through its proper process and that there was a lead time involved before changes could be implemented. The disagreement means drivers in Huntingdonshire will have to wait longer to find out whether the proposed free parking arrangement will go ahead. What could happen next? Bristow said free parking was a promise he was determined to keep and that he would continue looking for a way to deliver the scheme. He said he would consider private companies and other car parks after acknowledging that working with the district council over its managed car parks would be easier. In a letter to Conboy, Bristow called for the council to engage constructively with combined authority officers to find a way forward involving key town-centre car parks. For drivers and local businesses, the outcome could affect the cost of weekday visits to Huntingdonshire town centres, but no new free-parking date has been confirmed. The existing Peterborough scheme is separate and is already operating, while the proposed Huntingdonshire scheme remains on hold.