PLANS to replace the pay-on-exit barrier system at two Newquay car parks with the traditional pay-and-display system have been criticised.

Cornwall Council will be making the switch at St George’s and The Manor car parks sometime before April.

Residents and councillors have raised concerns income at the car parks will drop and that free after 4pm parking and free winter parking will end.

The council U-turn has also been branded a “waste of money” as the barrier system was introduced not that long ago.

It follows council controversial plans to transfer 28 of its car parks to Cormac, an arm’s length company, to enable an ANPR parking system to be introduced in a bid to save money.

Geoff Brown, the former Cabinet member for transport at Cornwall Council, said: “So as well as outsourcing Newquay’s coastal car parks to be managed by a third-party company, Cornwall Council is now planning to remove the barriers at the Manor and St George’s Road car parks and put them back to pay and display. To save costs?

“I always thought that the barrier system was fraught with risks of failure but that’s what the then “parking experts” in Cornwall Council advised.

“That said, the barriers did their job. Now income will drop considerably as not everyone will pay and unless they increase parking officers to monitor, increasing the costs, many will simply not pay.

“The whole idea of outsourcing was to free up enforcement officers to improve congestion in our towns.

“This will have the opposite effect on Newquay’s central car parks as they will need to patrol the central car parks far more often.

“The answer is blindingly obvious, Cornwall Council should have applied to the last Government – and to this one for that matter - to run a pilot of installing camera control on town centre car parks so that they could retain the control of local issues, managing town centre congestion and providing a cost effective and efficient service for users.

“Such as the free after 4pm parking, scrapped by this council, which aimed to help hard pressed families to shop in our town centre after work/school and thereby encourage footfall into our already struggling town centres.”

Councillor Joanna Kenny added: “So removing the need for enforcement officers in the coastal car parks but increasing the need in the much busier central car parks. I fail to see the logic.

“We're assured by our local Cornwall Councillor that Cornwall Council will still control tariffs, but I have my doubts and fear we'll lose our free after 4pm and free winter parking, the first and now the last of the initiatives that Geoff Brown and I introduced to make parking available for local people when there was no visitor demand.”

Cornwall Council will also be making the switch over at four other car parks in the county including Millpool in Looe, Harbour in Penzance as well as at Trenwith and Island in St Ives.

The unitary authority stated that once the switchover dates are confirmed, it will put up signs at the car park entrances and payment terminals to notify members of the public in advance.

It has also advised people who don’t regularly park in the affected car parks, to check the signs before leaving their vehicles to ensure they pay correctly.