02 August 2023 , 15:17
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Residents have been forced to sell their cars after being told they now must pay £2,200 every year to park near their homes.
They have reacted in anger after a parking firm scrapped annual permit passes and told them they must pay almost £200 a month to leave their vehicles near their properties. Drivers says they can't afford it, so have been left with no alternative but to put their cars up for sale.
NCP, which operates a variety of car parks around Manchester city centre, raised fees for them by around £1,000 a year. They initially offered residents on the New Bailey Street estate an annual parking pass for £1,250 last year when they bought their flats in the Novella building, the Manchester Evening News report.
But after one resident attempted to renew their pass, they found the deal had been scrapped. Aaron Eastwood then discovered the next-cheapest option was a season pass for £2,200 and refused to accept the price hike.
The 33-year-old is now being forced to part with his Seat Ibiza and said: “They are attracting you to the city centre and then pricing you out while you’re there." He said he isn't the only resident forced to take action after being hit by the new charges.
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NCP has issued a statement on the controversy, saying the permit was ‘financially unviable’. It said: “We do understand the concern about the recent price changes on this car park. Unfortunately the residents have been benefiting from a Resident Roving season ticket that was proving financially unviable for the business and as a result that product has now been discontinued.
"In its place is a season ticket that customers can purchase on a monthly, quarterly or annual basis and offers a discount off the standard roll up rate. We apologise to our customers for this obviously unwelcome price rise, but we are still offering opportunities to have discounted parking rates and are simply unable to continue to offer the parking spaces at such a greatly discounted rate.”
The apology follows other residents also reporting they have plans to sell their cars, and one added his car has been broken into while parked at NCP Stanley Street. To make matters worse, Chris could not find the CCTV footage as he claims he was told the cameras were ‘fake’, he added.
“I always used to go in Stanley Street but my car got broken into in January,” said the 25-year-old. “Then I started using New Bailey as it has a security office inside.
“They broke my window and put a dent in my door. It cost £650 in total to fix. The police contacted NCP and there were cameras above my car but NCP said they were fake. They said the only real ones are those going and out of the car park.”