New Council Leader - act now to remove charges in Idle Car Park say Lib Dems

The Idle and Thackley Liberal Democrat team has written to the new leader of Bradford Council, Cllr Place, demanding urgent action over damaging parking charges in Idle village.

Local campaigners say their team have been fighting alongside residents and businesses ever since the £1-an-hour charges were proposed by the Council in 2024 and were introduced last autumn, warning they were damaging the village centre and driving shoppers away from local independent businesses.

Lib Dem campaigners argue the charges have left the main car park underused while surrounding residential streets have become increasingly congested. 

After sustained pressure from Liberal Democrat Councillors, residents and local businesses, Bradford Council briefly introduced five 30-minute free parking bays. However, the bays were removed within days, a move the Lib Dem team has described as “farcical”. Hundreds of local people signed our letter to the Old Labour leaders at City Hall in response, but, as was often the case with the Labour Administration, it was also ignored. 

The Lib Dem team points out that successful schemes offering limited free parking already operate elsewhere in the district, including Haworth, proving that a common-sense alternative is possible.

In their letter to the new council leader, campaigners are calling for the immediate removal of the charges in Idle and a wider review of parking charges across the Bradford district.

Alun Griffiths and Aislin Naylor of the Idle and Thackley Liberal Democrat team said:

“The Lib Dem team have been campaigning alongside residents and local businesses against these damaging parking charges since they were first introduced.

“It is clear the policy is hurting our village centre, increasing congestion on nearby streets and making life harder for local people and businesses.

Commenting, Rachel Sunderland said, “Businesses and residents are hurting as costs rise - a lot of this is outside of the control of this Council. But we need to look at what the Council can do to help out. Removing these parking charges is within the control of this Council and needs to happen now.”

“We are urging the new council leader to listen to residents, support local businesses and take immediate action to scrap these charges in Idle.”

Lib Dem Letter to the new Council Leader demanding the review and removal of charges immediately

Dear Cllr Place, 

We are contacting you in your role as the Leader of Bradford Council to call for an urgent review of the parking charges in Idle village.

As you may be aware, the Idle and Thackley Lib Dem team have been fighting these charges since the outset, recognising the damaging impact they have had on our village.

It is well reported that small, common-sense measures, such as short-term free parking, can make a significant difference to local businesses. Research by the Federation of Small Businesses and the British Retail Consortium supports this finding: accessible short-term parking increases local trade and keeps shoppers loyal to their high streets. When visiting a village shop becomes costly or inconvenient, people often default to out-of-town alternatives, and the local economy suffers.

It is clear that since the introduction of £1-an-hour parking charges last autumn, Idle’s village centre has struggled. 

The car park, once busy with people making quick visits to local shops, often sits empty, while side streets are packed, with residents finding it hard to park and potential customers being forced further away from the village's independent shops.

At a time when householders and small businesses are struggling with rising costs of food and fuel, we should be throwing our support behind our local businesses, making it easier for people to shop local. Not persisting with restrictive parking charges.

After sustained campaigning by Liberal Democrat councillors and residents, the Council finally introduced five 30-minute free bays in July. It was a small but meaningful step, recognition that punitive parking charges were doing real harm. But within days, the bays were removed, with officers claiming they hadn’t gone through the “proper process.” No consultation. No engagement with local councillors. No answers to questions about cost or accountability.

This is nothing short of farcical.

Other places in the Bradford district have already introduced limited-time free bays successfully, such as in Haworth. So why not Idle?

The Idle and Thackley Lib Dem Team are clear that immediate action is needed.

As a result of these charges, congestion and dangerous parking in the village has increased, local businesses have suffered with some closing, and residents have been inconvenienced. The charges have raised a trivial amount for the authority, far less than was predicted.

On behalf of residents, businesses and visitors, we are writing to ask you to 

1. Commit to removing the charges in Idle immediately 

2. Carry out a district-wide review of car parking charges in line with our proposed budget amendment this year, which would have removed charges in small centres such as Idle.

In anticipation of your swift consideration and reply,

Yours sincerely,

Alun Griffiths, Aislin Naylor and Rachel Sunderland

Idle and Thackley Liberal Democrat Team

Response from Cllr Place 23.05.26

***Start***

Dear Alun

I can confirm that, as part of our support for business throughout the Bradford district, car parking charges are under review, and it is a top priority

Best regards

Cllr Stephen Place

***Ends***

We are pleased they will be reviewed, but with no timescales or immediate suspension of the charges, we fear that more unnecessary damage is being done to local businesses and residents and we urge Cllr Place to move faster to sort this issue now.