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Hillingdon’s Leader says the Council is “looking to maintain cash payments” for parking, possibly by buying tickets in shops. That would be welcome news for anyone who can’t or won’t use a parking app. But the parking consultation doesn’t mention it, and it doesn’t say whether cash would still get you the resident rate.
On 28 October, the Uxbridge Gazette’s Bm@il column interviewed the Council Leader, Cllr Steve Tuckwell. He was asked about older Beck Theatre-goers who don’t use smartphones and want to buy a ticket at a machine. He said the Council had listened, and was “looking to maintain cash payments. This could be through buying parking tickets in shops.”
Not a change of plan
The September report already said Pay & Display machines would be removed where you can pay some other way, “such as payment facilities in nearby shops”. So paying in shops isn’t a U-turn. It’s how the Council plans to remove the machines.
Not new, either
In July, Richard Webb, the Council’s Director of Community Safety & Enforcement, told the Residents’ Services Select Committee that Pay by Phone already lets you pay “by going into PayPoint shops”, with cash or card:
“We are aware that there were people who would not necessarily want to use Pay By Phone. What I would say is Pay By Phone, you can pay by making a phone call, you can pay by having a smartphone app, and you can also pay by going into PayPoint shops (and paying by cash or card in a shop) for a parking session.”
In other boroughs, such as Barnet and Merton, you give the shop the parking location code and your number plate, and pay. There’s no ticket: the parking is linked to your car.
What neither the Leader nor Mr Webb has said is whether paying in a shop gets you the resident rate.
What we need to know
- Would you still get the resident rate? The draft orders say the resident rate and the free half hour need a cashless account “linked to a registered Hillingdon Resident”. Would paying cash in a shop count? If so, how would the shop know you’re a registered resident?
- Which shop? Evening performances at the Beck, Sundays at the Lido, early starts at Kingsend. Which shop would be open, and how far away?
- How long would it take? If you have to walk to a shop before your parking starts, how much of a free half hour is left by the time you get back?
- Is it in the consultation? No. “Looking to” isn’t a commitment, and paying in shops isn’t mentioned anywhere in the 117 pages.
We’ve asked the Council the same questions (question 8 of 16), and we’ll publish the answer.
Tell us
Do you pay for parking with coins? Is there a shop near where you park that you could use instead, and is it open when you need it? Have you ever paid for parking in Hillingdon at one of the PayPoint shops that Richard Webb described as existing payment options? We’d like to hear from you. Email secretary2@ruislipresidents.org.uk or get in touch here.
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