Council set to increase parking charges

The city’s car parking charges are set to rise for the first time in 14 years as the council battles to fill a hole in its budget.

Worcester City Council has revealed it wants to up the fees at dozens of its car parks to bring in more money to balance its budget and it would be the first increase since 2009.

The biggest rise would see charges increase by 25 per cent – or 60p – for parking two hours at the city’s busiest car parks.

A report, which will be discussed by the environment committee on January 24, said that the price of a two-hour stay at the council’s three ‘red zone’ car parks – Copenhagen Street, Cornmarket and Providence Street – should change from £2.40 to £3.

At the six amber zone car parks – Cattlemarket, King Street, Newport Street, St Martin’s Gate, Clare Street and Commandery Road – parking up to two hours would rise from £1.80 to £2.

In the green zone car parks – Pitchcroft, The Moors, Tallow Hill, Tybridge Street and Croft Rd – the two-hour parking fee would move from £1.20 to £1.50.

Parking for 24 hours at St Martin’s Gate multi-storey car park would cost £4, compared to the current £3.60.

Half-hour charges would be scrapped and £1 fees for parking between 7pm and 9pm would also be ditched for hourly rates.

The price of parking in council-owned car parks has not moved since 2009 despite rising costs and inflation and free parking has been offered during the run-up to Christmas for several years.

Council bosses say that the price of running its 14 car parks has risen by almost eight per cent since 2021 and the money it brings in from charges – which is the council’s single biggest source of income and generates around £3 million a year – needs to rise so that it “at least keeps pace with costs.”

The council said it needs the money to continue to be able to fund essential services such as bin collections, street cleaning and housing support, and that even with a rise, the price of using its car parks would still be cheaper than privately-run car parks and similarly sized cities such as Cheltenham and Exeter.

Councillor Karen Lewing, vice chair of the environment committee, said the council needed to look at ways of balancing its books in the face of increased costs.

“Car parking charges are a very significant source of income for the council, and they have not increased in 14 years, during which time we have seen big rises in bus and train fares,” she said.

“These small increases will also simplify the charging structure. We will ensure the city council’s car parks continue to be competitively priced and, where possible, still cheaper than private car parks within Worcester and those in comparable towns and cities.”

Last year, at least 1,500 drivers were needlessly charged several times for parking in Worcester because of a cock-up over card payments.

The increased charges would raise around £350,000 extra for the council’s coffers and it would cost the council upwards of £16,000 to replace signs across its car parks with the new tariffs.