Passengers 'furious' at proposal to triple Corby Railway Station parking charges

North Northamptonshire Council launched a consultation last week, out of the blue, into their proposal to raise car parking charges from £3.50 per day to £10 per day.

Weekly charges would more than double from £14 to £30 and other longer-stay charges would also see steep rises.

The news has been met with disgust by people who use the station and those who live nearby.

And the town’s new Labour MP Lee Barron has urged the council and East Midlands Railways come up with a long-term plan for the station.

Commuter Sia Murthy who travels by rail to London three times a week said: “It’s already a struggle to find a parking space. Lots of people have to park on the entrance road.

"Just because people commute it does not mean they are rich.

"It’s obvious what’s going to happen. People will just have to park on the roads. People were talking about it on the train and they’re furious.”

Bruce Marshall lives in Oundle but travels to Corby to use the station.

"I much prefer Corby station to Peterborough so I come here,” he said.

“I use it a lot to get to Luton Airport.

"When I started coming here the car park was pretty empty but now it’s often full. It’s good to see it busy but it can be tricky and I’ve had to park in side streets before.

"It seems ludicrous to put the price up by so much. Everyone’s just going to park in the street.”

There has long been concern over the lack of parking at the popular station. When it was first re-opened fifteen years ago the low parking charges were designed as an incentive for people to use the service. But since then passenger numbers have grown exponentially. Recent figures show 400,000 journeys per year are taken from Corby.

Many had hoped that pockets of brownfield land around the station could be utilised for extra parking, but they have since been sold off to developers.

Some passengers park on the access road, but workmen were installing a new sign as our reporters visited on Friday to warn people they would now be charged even if they were not in marked bays.

Local residents said that they already struggle with parking.

Steelworker Hugh Doherty lives in Scott Road, which is often packed with commuters. He has ripped out his hedge and block-paved his frontage to make sure he can always park.

"Some of them come and park up for a week,” he said.

"We see them with their suitcases. We’ve had Aston Martins and all kinds park here.

"I’m not sure raising the parking charges will make any difference to us. I think they are entitled to put them up. If they won’t pay £3.50 they won’t pay £10.

"If they want London wages they should be willing to pay London prices.”

Corby and East Northants MP Lee Barron, who was elected a week ago, has been highlighting issues at the station for the past year. He said: “I have been kept up to date on issues at Corby station, including massive parking issues caused by lack of parking spaces, a lack of facilities at Corby station with the cafe still closed and trains being cancelled on a regular basis.

“We need a proper long term plan for the station and I am keen to meet with the council and EMR on this.

“In response to this massive hike in charges I trust NNC will listen to what the residents say and take this on board, and I urge all those using the station to ensure they put their views forward.”

The new charges will see the daily price leap from £3.50 to £10, a weekly ticket will rise from £14 to £30, the monthly price is set to go up from £45 to £100, a three-month pass will rise from £120 to £270 and and annual pass will increase from £390 to £1,000.

You can view and reply to the consultation here. It closes on August 2.

Cllr Alison Dalziel (Lab, Corby West) regularly uses the station to get to work. She said: “I cannot actually believe what I have heard, that there is a proposal to increase the daily car parking rate from £3.50 to £10.

“Let us not be under any illusion – the consultations by NNC so far have not been worth the paper they have been written on.

"The green waste charge, the taxi de-zoning to name two, have simply been an administrative exercise to bulldoze in changes that the council saw fit to do so. I have absolutely no confidence that this next consultation will take any notice of any responses from the public.

"What user of the train station is going to say it’s fine to increase the daily parking charge to £10? It would be like turkeys voting for Christmas.

“This has got to be stopped. It’s absurd.”

Corby Town Council leader Cllr Mark Pengelly said: “There was a reason Corby parking rates are lower than Kettering and that was because of the extra cost difference between Corby to London and Kettering to London prices .

“Corby Council recognised the importance of the cheaper rates to get rail user numbers up which gives an argument for even more services going forward. A steep rise in charges will hit people in the pocket in these difficult times, force users to go direct to other stations and or park on the local streets causing congestion. We urge residents and rail users to get involved in the consultation.”

The council is under no legal obligation to consult local people on the plan, and does not have to listen to the views of residents, but says that opinions will be considered as part of its decision.

Jason Smithers, Leader of North Northamptonshire Council, said: "The consultation seeks to gather feedback and input to aid the decision-making process prior to the final proposals being agreed and implemented, ensuring all stakeholder needs and perspectives are considered.

"This is the first parking charge review since the train station car park was incorporated into NNC ownership several years ago.

"We would encourage all customers and residents to respond to the proposal so the Council can consider those views."