City fees should be even higher

A city centre councillor said parking charges in the centre of Perth should be increased more to avoid increases elsewhere.

Cllr Andrew Parrott said: “It is regrettable the charges are going up for car parking in Perth but they are fairly modest compared with other places.

“The car parking account at council does not run at a profit at the moment.

“We are seeking to do our best by the folk who use the car parking terms and support businesses but we can’t continue to run them at a loss so it is a fact of life.

“I also believe we might have been able to differentiate between certain car parks.

“If you look for revenue increases it makes sense you have to pay more for those right in the centre than in Canal Street, for example.

“Perhaps a fairly steep increase to stay for a little time in the city centre to discourage long-term parking, maybe even doubling them, and then keeping charges out of other car parks would be sensible.

“I would be happy to park in Mill Street and pay £2 just to go out and get something, rather than having to go to Canal Street.

“I think car parking on the edge of the city, like the South Inch and Edinburgh Road, is quite underused at the moment.

“Perhaps we should be looking to reduce parking charges there to encourage long-stay parking.

“No one likes parking increases but we accept the need so parking revenue does not run at a deficit.”