THE manager of a car park company has defended the decision to put up parking charges at Wrexham’s Eagles Meadow shopping complex.
After a holding promotional rate of just £1 for two hours for the first year of its opening, operating company Vinci Parks has now started to charge £2 for the same period of time.
A number of people have contacted the Leader to express their dissatisfaction at the move.
Victoria Williams, regional manager for Vinci Parks, admitted that a number of people had complained directly to her about the increase.
She said: “After having the promotional rate for the past 12 months, we have just put up the charge.
“We are now having to pay commercial rates so we must charge a commercial tariff.
“I know that there are people who are not happy about this because a number have complained directly to me about it.
"There is a dilemma here as we are selling permits at £1.50 a day to people parking on a regular basis.
“This is part of an initiative for the benefit of people who work in the town centre and it also alleviates pressure on other car parks.”
She added: “We need to maximise our revenue to get as many people as possible parking at Eagles Meadow.
“Although I appreciate the point of view of people, we are a commercial organisation and we need to charge a commercial rate.”