ONE of the country's biggest pensioner groups has backed a Daily Echo campaign demanding council leaders in Southampton rip up a policy to charge residents to park outside their homes.
Age Concern warns pensioners on low incomes would be one of the hardest hit by the controversial plan and may force some to give up their cars.
Labour and Lib Dem councillors agreed the parking policy to charge for all residents' permits without even guaranteeing a space - the first permit is currently free.
It sparked fury from residents and led to our Parking Mad campaign demanding a U-turn.
Labour council leader June Bridle was accused of trying to fool voters when she pledged not to bring in new charges for at least 12 months - after May local elections.
Yet she refused to scrap the policy and said she would look at other ways to make the residents' parking scheme "self-funding" such as charging more for a second permit.
Council parking chiefs reckon they need to raise an additional £342,000 to make the scheme pay for itself.
But Age Concern Hampshire director Chris Perry slammed the scheme as "short sighted"
and called on city pensioners to put pressure on their ward councillors.
He said: "It's just a surcharge on council tax.
"Having something like this hanging over you only increases anxiety and stress levels. It is not going to do people on low incomes much good.
"Elderly people are continually having to pay more and more out of less."
Mr Perry said: "Some people may have to give up their cars and that will only lead to social isolation.
It is a short sighted thing to do.
"I think elderly people ought to be telling their councillors and the more pressure they can put on them the better."
The policy comes as Labour and Lib Dem councillors rejected a ten per cent council tax discount for over 65 households and agreed an inflation- busting council tax rise of 3.5 per cent.
Tory parking spokesman Gavin Dick has called for the charging policy, part of a wider parking strategy agreed last month, to be scrapped.
