A large number of charges are set to be introduced as the government tries to raise more money.
They are being levied by the Department of Infrastructure to meet its budget target and are aimed to help the government achieve its ‘national priority’ of rebalancing public finances by 2016.
The DoI is responsible for delivering revenue savings of £5 million in the current financial year, which is half of Government’s overall target for 2014-15.
Its proposals were set out some months ago. Now most of them are being introduced.
The measures include:
Charging for parking spaces used by Tynwald Members and government staff in central Douglas
Increasing the charges at Chester Street, Drumgold Street and Parade Street East and West car parks
Introducing pay-and-display parking on Douglas Promenade Walkway and reducing the maximum stay for parking in the disc zone between Granville Street and the Sea Terminal to one hour
Introducing a £25 administration charge for residential permits, exempting holders from time restrictions at disc parking zones where they live
Increasing revenue generated by vehicle excise duty by 10 per cent overall
Introducing a charge of 50p per journey for children travelling to school by bus
Changing the age of eligibility for free bus travel for senior citizens from 60 to the state pension age. Passes will not be withdrawn from existing holders who will retain ‘grandfather rights’ to their passes.
Revising charges for the collection and processing of fallen stock at the Animal Waste Processing Plant
Removing the 30-minute free parking period and disc zone at the airport
The implementation dates for the department’s new budget measures will be confirmed in the near future.
More on this story in tomorrow’s Manx Independent