Pay and display machines in Eastbourne set to be removed

East Sussex County Council (ESCC) has confirmed it will be removing some payment machines in civil parking enforcement areas across Eastbourne due to a ‘decline in use’.

Over the past few weeks, several machines across town have had signs placed on them which already state they are no longer in use. These signs request that motorists use an app, which charges a ‘small convenience fee’, to pay for their parking, or use another machine indicated on a map.

A spokesperson for ESCC said: “We appreciate that removing machines will have an impact on some motorists, but we need to balance this against the cost of maintaining the current number of machines.

“The option to pay at a machine is still available and where we are planning on removing a machine, there will be another a short distance away that can be used. Notices on the machines also have information about how to pay by phone, app or online, and a smart phone is not required to make payment."

However, some residents believe this could cause difficulties for those who rely on cash or who are unable to use technology.

Natalie Christmas said: “For my mum who is 80, she wouldn’t have the first clue how to use this.

"I think this really does make parking inaccessible to people for many reasons.”

Stacey Renouf added: “It’s good to have the option of both app and cash but applying an app-only pay system is very discriminatory to a lot of people who aren’t able to access an app for any number of reasons. I’m all for change and moving with the times, but you can’t discriminate in the process and have to make it accessible for all.”

However, Rachel Bradley believes using an app instead of a machine makes paying for parking ‘much easier’.

She said: “The app’s downloaded , I can use it anywhere as my details are already stored in the system. I never carry coins on me anymore.

"Those machines take forever especially if there's a queue of people and half the buttons don't work either. So I'm all for them.”

People can share their views about the removal of particular machines by emailing: [email protected].