Parking restriction starts at station
A 72-hour maximum stay restriction, with no return within six hours, has started in the Northumberland County Council-owned car park on the northbound platform side, although parking remains free.
Disabled Blue Badge holders can park without time limit in any bay.
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Hide AdThere is no restriction in the car park on the southbound side, which is managed by Network Rail.
The new scheme comes as part of efforts to tackle car-parking problems at and around the station and the county council is looking at further measures.
Earlier this year, the authority said it was considering a pilot scheme to introduce a £3-a-day parking charge on the northbound side.
This would be supplemented by a residents’-only parking-permit scheme, tested in Hipsburn, with extra single yellow lines in the village to prevent illegal and anti-social parking.
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Hide AdIncome generated from the charges would cover the cost of implementing the new arrangements and also help contribute towards a study to identify long-term improvements to parking capacity and facilities at the station, as well as any changes to existing layouts/landscaping within the car park that can be implemented quickly to provide some extra capacity. Any remaining income would go towards the delivery of vital public services in the county, such as highway maintenance.
The trial pay-to-park arrangement and residents’ parking scheme went out for consultation in June.
Yesterday a county council spokesman said: “We are still considering the consultation feedback and liaising with stakeholders. We’ll be announcing the next steps in due course.”