Car parking charge for Wapping Wharf residents disputed
People living in part of Bristol face having to pay £600 a year to use a car park close to their home.
Liberal Democrat-controlled Bristol City Council said since the Museum of Bristol had opened in the city docks more people wanted to park in the area.
Councillor Tim Kent said the price was "cheap" compared with other car parks - some charging more than £2,000 a year.
But householders argue they should pay £30 a year - the cost of on-street residents' parking schemes in the city.
Johnathan Brassington, who lives in Wapping Wharf, said the area was residential - a mixture of town houses, flats and houseboats - so believes it should be no different from any other part of the city.
He said people living in Kingsdown, Cotham and Redcliffe can pay £30 a year to park in pay-and-display bays with a resident's permit.
'Highly reduced rate'
"But in Wapping Wharf the council is expecting us to pay £600 per year," he said.
"We are completely behind the council in trying to sort out the parking problems in the area but the flat and boat-owners have nowhere else to park."
But Mr Kent said the difference between residents' parking schemes and Wapping Wharf was that the permits were for a council-owned car park and not on-street parking.
"A small number of flats did not come with parking and the boats do not have allocated spaces either.
"We accept this and are giving them the option to buy a permit to park in the car park at a highly reduced rate.
"It's completely up to people if they want to buy a permit or not and a few have already got in touch to buy one.
"When the flat-owners chose to buy those flats they realised they did not come with parking and had a far cheaper property when they bought it.
"So why should other city council residents subsidise their parking?"