Churches threaten to contest local elections in parking fees protest

Churches have threatened to field protest candidates at the next local elections if Westminster scraps free evening and Sunday parking.

Parishioners are considering entering politics to oust the Conservatives from power over fears new Sunday parking charges would drastically reduce congregation numbers.

More than 2,500 people have signed a petition calling for the council to drop the proposals. A protest is planned outside Westminster City Hall tonight when council chiefs are expected to approve the plans.

Drivers face having to pay up to £4.40 an hour to park from 6.30pm until midnight Monday to Saturday and between 12 noon and 6.30pm on Sundays. Free parking hours would also be cut back on Saturdays.

Westminster council estimates it will raise up to £7 million a year from the new charges as it seeks £60 million in budget cutbacks. If approved the measures will be introduced just before the Christmas shopping rush. There are 47 churches in Westminster and its Churches Together campaign is calling on parishioners to stand in the 2014 local elections in protest over the parking charges.

Michael Beckett, church warden of St George's Hanover Square, said: "The churches feel Westminster isn't listening to local people and no one is in favour of these charges."

Small shops and chain stores have also joined forces to fight the scrapping of nearly all free parking in the West End. Patricia Michelson, who owns La Fromagerie in Moxon Street, said: "We get a lot of business after church on Sundays. Their cynical exercise to get more money in the kitty will in fact backfire as people will not visit the area."

Cllr Lee Rowley, Westminster Council's cabinet member for parking, said: "This is the first review of its kind for more than a decade and it's clear that changing road management needs, an increasing population and economic demands mean we need to look again at how we do things.

"The results challenge many of the traditional views of the way traffic comes into and moves around the city, specifically with some areas showing more traffic coming into the city into the evening and on weekends than during regular business hours.

"This means parking space is being used on a first come-first-served basis, motorists can come into the city at 6.30pm and stay in a bay until the next morning making it very difficult for other motorists to park.

"Ultimately this is about making it easier for residents, businesses and visitors to use our roads effectively and ensure we have parking policies fit for the next decade."