Changes to parking charges agreed by full council
Changes have been agreed by full council to charges for on-street parking and council car parks.
It is projected that the move will raise more than £3.5 million over the next three years as the council looks to raise nearly £40 million to balance the books.
It is also hoped it will reduce the number of vehicles in town centres, encouraging people to walk or cycle instead and cut down on congestion and emissions. In turn that will free up parking spaces and ensure a quicker turnover to bring more people into towns to boost trade.
The proposals were approved at tonight’s meeting of the full council as part of the authority’s medium term financial strategy. The charges are expected to come into force in October.
The following changes have been agreed:
- Tiered charges for one hour parking between £1.20 and £1.80
- A £2.50 charge for two hours parking
- An increase from £2 to £3 for three hours parking
- An increase from £3 to £4 for four hours parking
- An increase from £5 to £6 for all day parking
Projected figures in the report which went before cabinet earlier this month show the local authority aims to raise £725,000 in the current financial year, and a further £1.45m in both 2025/26 and 2026/27.
Councillor Damian Corfield, cabinet member for highways and environmental services, said:
“Following feedback from the scrutiny committee and from traders, we reconsidered some of the original proposals and agreed the changes which have been approved tonight.
“As a council we have set a target to deliver nearly £40 million worth of savings over the next three years to balance our books. This will go some way towards that and help to protect our critical front-line services.
“Beyond that we hope it will help to fund improvements to our car parks, roads and infrastructure, and ease congestion in our town centres.
“Of course we know that not everyone will welcome proposals to increase parking charges. But hopefully people can understand the reasons behind them.”