Sunday parking charges in Wiltshire from April 1st
No more 'free after 3pm' at Salisbury's Culver Street multi-storey either
Wiltshire Council have published more details about price increases that are happening at car parks across the county.
It's the first increase to car park charges in four years.
Charges will come into force for Sunday car parking, the so called 'free after 3' arrangement will cease at the Culver Street car park in Salisbury, and all car park charges could be set to go up by 10p per hour.
Blue Badge holders could also soon have to pay for parking.
Many of the car parks in Salisbury are affected, as well as rises in the cost of residents' visitor parking permits.
There are two types of changes – the first is those that begin from 1st April and will go ahead without any further consultation. The second is other changes that will need public consultation through a process called a 'traffic regulation order' (TRO) – including raising all car park charges by 10p per hour.
Wiltshire Council says, as agreed in its recent budget, it is making several changes to parking fees to 'better reflect' current inflation levels and recover some operational costs.
From 1 April, the following changes will apply:
• The removal of the free parking after 3pm in Culver Street car park, Salisbury
• An increase in residents’ visitor parking permits from 40p to 60p
• A charge for annual visitor permits; these are currently free but will now cost £20
• An increase of the tradesmen’s waiver, from £11 to £15
• Sunday charging in all Wiltshire Council car parks
• The end of free event parking for town and parish councils
The TRO process will begin soon, and will specifically consult on introducing parking charges for Blue Badge holders; increasing car parking charges by 10p per hour on every tariff; and introducing car parking charges at Castle Combe car park.
When the process begins, you can have their say on the proposals here: wiltshire.gov.uk
Cllr Dr Mark McClelland, Cabinet Member for Transport, said:
“The pandemic has meant that we haven’t been able to make the type of savings that we normally would have over the last couple of years, and so we have had to make difficult decisions on parking charges across the county."
“These changes to parking services follow the strategy set out in our Local Transport Plan, and help to bring the charges in line with inflation."
“Several changes will start on 1 April, while others are subject to a traffic regulation order consultation – and I’d urge people to share their views through this process."
“We have not increased parking charges in four years, and we have no intention of doing so again in the next four years. These changes will enable us to invest in parking throughout the county, while also supporting vital services such as buses.”
Find out more about car parking charges in Wiltshire here: www.wiltshire.gov.uk/parking