Planned parking restrictions set to be rolled out across Slough have been branded a ‘moneymaking scheme' for the council. But council leaders insist both the new restrictions and the income they’ll bring in are necessary.

Baylis and Stoke ward councillor Fiza Matloob called on Slough Borough Council to halt the borough-wide controlled parking zone (CPZ) rollout at a meeting on Thursday, November 29.

The Labour councillor said: “The CPZ and how it’s being implemented currently is flawed.

“The way that it’s being implemented is nothing more than a money-making scheme to squeeze our residents.”

READ MORE: Horlicks Quarter linked to unsafe parking Slough Borough Council says

Councillor Matloob added that a consultation on restrictions already rolled out in his ward ended in a ‘massive rejection’ by residents.

More than 1,400 people had signed a petition against the plans, and 550 people objected – but councillor Matloob said they’d been ‘ignored’.

He called on council leaders to ‘show they truly represent the residents of Slough instead of trying to squeeze them for every penny they can get out of them’.

But Conservative council leader Dexter Smith said the rollout would be introduced gradually, as a series of proposals. He said they were needed to address areas where there are already parking problems, but also to avoid ‘displacing’ those problems elsewhere.

READ MORE: Horlicks Quarter residents say they’re left with nowhere to park

He said: “It envisages that there will be a displacement of that where some of the extra parking demand that that there is move to areas where there are less controls.

“These controls might include things like waiting time restrictions or residents parking permits.”

Councillor Smith also insisted the planned new restrictions ‘is not just a moneymaking scheme for the council’.

But he did say the money they’d bring in would be essential to fund parking enforcement. He said if they were scrapped, the council would have to find ‘alternative savings’ elsewhere.

He said: “That income generated from controlled parling zones is built into our budget.

“The income is not just a moneymaking scheme for the council. It is money that is necessary to pay for enforcement. If we simply halt or remove this policy then we won’t be dealing with the parking problems that are manifest like airport parking in areas that are on public roads.”

Slough Borough Council is rolling out controlled parking zones across the borough in a ‘phased approach’. This involves consulting residents in each area on proposed restrictions.

Draft council spending plans suggest the controls could contribute to an additional £100,000 in income next year.

Councillor Matloob proposed that the rollout be halted until it could be made more ‘transparent’ and ‘inclusive’, and until alternatives had been investigated.

His proposal was rejected narrowly, with Conservatives and Liberal Democrats voting against while Labour and independent councillors voted in favour.