Parking in Winchester is a topic that stirs up debate, especially for the city centre residents.

The apartment block I now live in used to be a tyre and exhaust centre, a business, and because that didn’t have any allocated car parking permits, the city council won’t allow me to have one either. That’s the law, apparently.

So my only option for parking anywhere near my flat is to spend £1400 a year on a permit, like any normal commuter or non city resident.

If I had a flat with a residential permit allowed, it would cost me £22. That’s quite a difference.

I pay my council tax, I’m an active member of the Winchester community and have been a regular in the city for the last 9 years - but the parking office says I’m not entitled to the benefits that any normal resident would get.

This is odd, because they will give out parking permits to staff members of the city council quite freely. Few commercial organisations in the city offer this as a benefit, so why are the spare city spaces being used by outsiders as opposed to residents?

I’ll pay my £1400 because I don’t have any choice, but I don’t think its right.

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