Motorists across the country this year are already facing increased charges to use council owned car parks, with further hikes planned for later in 2024.
New research, conducted by YourParkingSpace, found six councils across the country have already introduced a car park price increase since 1st January, or are planning to increase fees in the spring. One council has even proposed increases to one of its price bands by a staggering 150 per cent.
North East Lincolnshire council published a notice in mid-December that it will proceed with increasing the prices at its Cleethorpes parking locations in 2024. Included within the increases was a doubling of the cost to park on Grantt Street, up from £1 to £2 for less than an hour’s parking. Meanwhile, Cheshire West and Chester Council will increase parking fees from 20p to 50p for a two hour stay in January at many of its Northwich sites, which represents a 150 per cent rise.
Meanwhile, Sandwell’s latest hike to its council parking locations in West Bromwich came into force on January 1st. Having already raised prices in October, the latest increase means that over the past six months, motorists have faced as much as a £2.60 hike in prices when choosing to park within West Bromwich for just a few hours.
Brannan Coady, CEO of YourParkingSpace stated that historical events are most likely now causing serious headaches for many councils across the country: “Out-of-control inflation over the past couple of years put a lot of pressure on already strained budgets at councils who were still trying to manage the impact of other significant global events.