Commencing 1 September 2013, shoppers will be required to pay $1 for the first hour of parking in Eastgate Carpark.

Reason for the change in parking fees

Under a 30 year old agreement, the owners of the Eastgate Shopping Centre, the Industry Superannuation Property Trust (ISPT), has been contributing towards the provision of free parking for the first hour. Despite ongoing discussions, ISPT has to date indicated no plans to continue contributing.

Council has established it can bear some of the cost for an interim period. For this reason, shoppers will need to pay $1 for the first hour from 1 September 2013 while Council continues to try to find another solution.

Council wants to avoid shoppers paying the full amount, or ratepayers having to foot the bill. Council has therefore been in discussions with ISPT for some time to encourage them to continue to contribute, and is also entering into discussions with the retailers about whether they would be willing to contribute through a parking validation shoppers scheme.

Council is continuing discussions with ISPT and the centre's retailers in the hope of finding another solution.

Parking validation scheme

Under these schemes, shoppers purchase an agreed value of goods to drive out free if leaving in under 1 hour. Council would then be reimbursed by the retailers for the value of the free parking provided to the shoppers. Retailers may also be likely to see a boost in sales. Variations of these schemes are used in many other shopping centres.

Have your say

Council has a petition available to encourage ISPT and retailers to support a parking validation scheme. Complete the petition below or visit Council’s Customer Service Centre at 55 Spring Street, Bondi Junction for a hard copy.

More information

For more information about the changes to the Eastgate Carpark fees, including the possible solutions Council is exploring, please visit our website.

Contact: engagement@waverley.nsw.gov.au