Liverpool workers and residents may be ‘angry’ about changes the City Council have to make

It’s thought free parking in Liverpool city centre after 6pm could be scrapped and charges will increase under new plans put forward by the local authority.

It's part of a month long consultation on the future of on-street parking in the city centre in a bid to modernise the provision and improve congestion and air quality.

Mayor Joanne Anderson said: “We've increased charges and fees where we can and we haven't really done and we haven’t really done that as a city to any great extent.

“People will feel that because it affects them individually.

"Having to pay more for parking and things like that, people will feel that and be angry about it.”

Under new proposals put forward, charges at public pay and display and other parking bays would be enforced between 7am to 11pm which is five hours more than the current 8am to 6pm charged slot.

Currently, 30 minutes parking in the city centre costs £1.20, this would go up to £1.30.

It's as the council is expected to publish its budget proposal this evening that hopes to put the area on a stable financial footing for the next three years.

This is to be a first step in the plan to balance the books as more money is needed to fill any possible budget gap.

It's hoped changes like this will curb the need for drastic measures on other services.

Mayor Anderson said: “The absolute last resort is reducing or cutting services and that’s the challenge ahead of us. We put our energy in to increasing fees where we can, transforming services and as a last resort cutting services.”

The proposed parking increase cost of 10p per 30 minutes would help contribute to the ongoing operation and enforcement, according to Liverpool Council and would be “significantly lower” than other core cities throughout the UK.

The closing date for responses to the consultation is 5pm on Monday December 12.

It can be found on the Liverpool Council website.

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