Council set to raise parking fees to stem predicted £61k losses

HIKE IN PRICES IN NARBOROUGH AND BLABY SEY TO BE VOTED ON

A COUNCIL has said it needs to increase the charges in its car parks in an effort to break even.

Blaby District Council has said its car parks are expected to run at a loss of £61,000 this financial year if things do not change.

It is proposing a new tariff for the sites, which will see charges starting at 70p for a one hour stay.

Currently, it costs motorists 30p for two hours parking in Blaby and Narborough.

Originally, the Conservative-run council had proposed to start the tariff at the rate of £1 for two hours.

However, respondents to a public consultation opposed this plan, saying that most people do not need to stay that long.

Blaby District councillors will be voting at a full council meeting next week on whether to implement the changes, which they say will shift the burden of funding the service from the general taxpayer to those who actually use it.

Councillor Les Phillimore said: “No-one wants to increase charges, least of all in the current climate, but I cannot stress just how important this new strategy is to reducing our annual car park losses which are in the tens of thousands of pounds and to make them viable and sustainable.

“We need to ensure that money is available to maintain and resurface our car parks, and this strategy will also enable us to install cycle racks and better LED lighting, continuing our journey to see the council as carbon neutral by 2030 and the district to be carbon neutral by 2050, which has considerable support in the consultation.”

Under the proposal, fees will start at 70p for one hour, then £1 for two hours. They will then be rising from 50p to £1.50 for a three-hour stay, from £1.50 to £3 for a four-hour stay and from £5 to £6 for longer than four hours.

The increase would be applied to the John’s Court and Enderby Road car parks in Blaby and the Weavers Court and Leicester Road car parks in Narborough.

The long-stay car park at Narborough railway station will see its prices increase from £5 for the day to £6.

Four days of free car parking in the pay and display car parks will also be maintained, spread across the year to tie in with key events or occasions.

Three hours of free parking will also continue to be available for disabled blue badge holders.

If approved, the changes are expected to come into play in October. The council has pledged that they will then be frozen until 2027.

Councillor Paul Hartshorn, Liberal Democrats representative for Blaby South, warned that the higher charges would be bad news for local businesses.

When the changes were first proposed, he said: “It is extremely disappointing that Blaby District council plan to increase local car parking charges.

“I have already previously campaigned not to put up parking charges in Blaby as I believe these will destroy the local economy by encouraging people to drive to outof-town shopping centres like Fosse Park, where parking is free.

“The long term effect could be devastating for our local businesses who are just starting to rebuild after two years of Covid restrictions.

“These charges could not come at a worse time, hitting retailers and consumers alike during the worsening cost of living crisis.”

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