Brentwood parking charges set to rise
Evening parking will triple in cost
Last updated 25th Nov 2022
Parking a car in Brentwood is set to become more expensive in the new year – and evening parking will triple in cost.
Brentwood Borough Council said it wants to encourage more people to use the multi-storey car park which at present remains under utilised as an alternative to the oversubscribed surface car parks of Chatham Way and William Hunter Way car parks by offering more favourable rates.
The 30 minutes free parking remains throughout the borough.
It means one hour parking at William Hunter Way will increase from £1 to £1.10, but Coptold Road multi-storey will stay at £1.
Moreover all day parking charge at Coptfold Road is to be reduced from £8 to £6 in order to provide workers, especially those in retail in Brentwood, access to cheaper parking on a daily basis if they park there.
However the council is scrapping its £2 per night charge. Instead if someone arrives at 7pm for six hours their charge will be £6.60.
Council leader Councillor Chris Hossack said he want to standardised parking fees over 24 hours so the night time economy is levied at the same rate as day time. But more work will be needed to mitigate those residents who have not on street parking and use council car parks as their principle place to park.
He said: “This is not aimed at penalising residents. This is aimed at why differentiate between the day and night economy.
“It is aimed very much at people who are coming to the high street whether day or night to use the facilities that are provided.”
However he accepted many residents could be affected – with new William Hunter Way season ticket offerings halted they cannot get that benefit. The council has said it will examine how it can manage those residents who could be affected.
Cllr Hossack said they are trying to get more people to use Coptfold Road and fewer in William Hunter Way which has become typically used by season ticket holders so when people do come to the town they have nowhere to park.
Cllr Hossack said: “What we want to do is incentivise those people into using the multi-storey to free up William Hunter Way and Chatham Road which we would see as prime parking.”
The new charges, which are set to start on January 1 2023, are predicted to raise £900,000 for the council.