Controversial charges are brought into force
Royal Borough: Council accepts that rise in fees won’t be popular
Controversial changes in fees and charges for parking in Windsor and Maidenhead came into force on Monday.
A public consultation on changes to these charges closed on January 1, with a total of 905 participants.
As ‘expected,’ many raised concerns about proposed increases in parking charges, including impacts on local town centres and on residents already affected by cost of living rises.
The Royal Borough ‘recognises that increases in parking fees and charges are never going to be popular’ but ‘in the face of a serious budget shortfall, the council has to take tough decisions’.
To mitigate the impacts of increases on residents, parking charges will be frozen in the two main town centre multi-storey car parks operated by the council (Hines Meadow in Maidenhead and Victoria Street in Windsor) for the first three hours.
The existing one-hour free residents’ parking offer at selected council-operated car parks will remain.
Residents can apply for the resident parking discount scheme at: rbwm.gov.uk/ home/transport-andstreets/parking/resident-parkingdiscount-scheme
The consultation also proposed alternative options on permit charges for on-street parking in residential areas where controlled parking zones operate.
A higher proportion of respondents living in these zones expressed a ‘strong preference’ for the second option, which freezes the cost of a resident parking permit for the first car per household.
It then increases fees for second and third vehicles.
Electric vehicles will now need a permit as they are no longer free. These EVs will now also have to pay for parking.
Changes to parking fees and charges were implemented from on Monday.
The council ‘will continue to explore a wide range of ways to balance the budget,’ it says, and proposals will be published in detail in advance of cabinet on February 20.
Councillor Geoff Hill, cabinet member for highways and transport, said:
“We understand the concerns raised and the reasons why many disagree with the proposals.
“But we have to pursue all avenues available to reduce the budget gap.
“In raising parking charges, we have tried to put in protections for residents and town centres where we can.”