Local councillors have spoken out against what they see as Cornwall Council leaders ‘not listening’ to what their town needs as it recovers from the pandemic.

Charges for car parking in facilities run by the local authority were suspended during the lockdown in order to support key workers and reduce the risk of virus transmission.

With the lifting of restrictions, that scheme ended.

Liskeard Town Council requested an extra three months of free parking at the Westbourne, Sungirt, Cattle Market and Rapsons car parks, but that request was declined by Cornwall Council.

Conservative Councillors for the town, Nick Craker and Jane Pascoe, have accused the Liberal Democrat/Independent leadership of ‘delivering another blow to the struggling high street’.

They say that many residents and businesses in the town want to see parking subsidised.

Cllr Pascoe, who has traded in Liskeard for over 40 years, said: ‘Residents have been contacting me, worried that the parking machines in the car parks were not being sanitised between each use.

‘We have a struggling high street and a Council who are not listening to our residents’ concerns.’

Cllr Craker commented: ‘We had so much support for this call from residents and businesses who rely on the town centre for their livelihoods.

‘I cannot believe those who run the Council have blocked our town’s plea for some help during this tough economic recovery period.’

Cornwall Council’s senior councillor with responsibility for parking and transport is Geoff Brown. He said that most local authorities in the UK had reintroduced car parking charges in June, as lockdown measures began to ease.

He said that without the income from car parks, the Council would have to raise council tax to bring in income to maintain roads and pavements.

‘We have maintained tariffs at summer 2019 levels and continue to offer free evening parking in the majority of Cornwall Council car parks,’ he said. ‘Flexible pay and park options, such as season tickets and multi-purchase sessions, significantly reduce the cost of parking for regular car park users.

‘We have previously worked with individual town and parish councils, Business Improvement Districts and chambers of commerce, to implement incentivised parking schemes such as free or reduced parking, where the local town council, BID or chamber of commerce has covered any loss in predicted income,’ he continued.

‘We have offered to work with Liskeard Town Council on an incentive scheme and we are happy to discuss this.

‘The income from parking enables us to make the best use of our resources and target funding towards maintaining Cornwall’s 7,300km road network.

‘While we receive about £9.7 million net income from parking each year, we spend around £45 million on maintaining the condition and safety of Cornwall’s roads and 2,700 bridges and retaining walls, as well as the car parks themselves.’