Swaffham car park campaigners hit back after being accused of spreading fake news by Breckland Council

Campaigners have hit back at a council after being accused of spreading fake news on social media.

Residents fighting controversial plans to introduce car parking charges in Swaffham, Dereham, Thetford, Watton and Attleborough have been accused by Breckland Council of sharing misinformation online.

The authority claims that social media posts have misrepresented its proposals, which it has strongly defended as being necessary due to budget pressures.

However, campaigners say they are being smeared and believe councillors are seeking to undermine their message while failing to provide any concrete evidence of wrongdoing.

Ian Milligan, one resident who has taken to social media to fight the plans, is one of those who has accused the council of being “dismissive” by branding his concerns as “fake news”.

He said: “During the cabinet meeting where the parking charges were decided, councillors referred to several ill-informed social media posts.

“I requested examples of these but only received anecdotal comments about what might have been seen. This lack of follow-through and the avoidance of providing concrete evidence is deeply concerning.

“There seems so much wrong with the way Breckland Council appears to be handling these issues that it’s hard to know where to begin. We demand transparency in the decision-making processes that affect our communities and our wallets.”

Examples of misinformation provided to Mr Milligan included comments that the council would charge for parking from the first minute across the district, that the scheme is a profit-making exercise, that town centre workers will be paying the maximum daily charge proposed, and that locals who rely on the car parks will have nowhere to go.

However, specific social media posts were not identified.

Cllr Paul Hewett, a member of the council, said: “We have witnessed commentary on social media expressing understandable concern at the planned changes.

“The concerns we voiced on misinformation centre on social media discussion that appears to react to the headline principle of introducing parking chargers, rather than the detail of the plan.

“We recognise people’s apprehension and have given a great deal of thought to ensuring that as much information as possible is available and accessible to residents to try and clarify any points of concern that they may have.”

WHAT ARE THE PROPOSALS?

Breckland Council’s cabinet voted in favour of introducing the charges in Swaffham, Dereham, Thetford, Watton and Attleborough amid increasing budget pressures, and hopes to launch a public consultation in the autumn before these are implemented.

The authority said ongoing budget pressures were forcing it to find alternative measures to pay the current bill for the upkeep of the car parks, which amounts to £450,000 a year.

The proposals will see one car park in each town offer the first hour of parking for free, with tariffs between 50p and £1 for the first chargeable hour at the others.

Fees would differ from town to town, with the cost of an entire day ranging from £2.50 in Watton to £3.80 in Thetford.

Charges would be enforced from Monday to Saturday between 8am and 6pm, with a flat-fee of £1.20 for Sundays.

The plans would also include free parking during a select number of days in each town to support local events on an annual basis.