Purpose

Proposed increase in Resident Parking Permit charges from £30 to £33 following a public consultation carried out in January 2026

Decision

(i)  To amend the proposals so that Resident Parking Permit and Annual Visitor Permit charges for Resident Parking Zones 1 – 12, 15 - 16, 26 and 27 increase from £30p/a to £33p/a and Resident Permit Parking Permit charges Resident Parking Zones 18 and 23 increase from £60 to £66 and for the increase in charges to take effect from 1st January 2027.

(ii)  To withdraw proposals to increase charges Visitor Scratch Cards, Business Permits and Medical Permits and to withdraw the proposal to amend the permitted stay period for Annual Visitor Permits from 8 hours to 4 hours.

(iii)  To delegate authority to the Executive Director – Growth & Prosperity to determine all future permit charge increases where proposals relate to existing charges only, and the level of fees be set in line with the Council’s Fees And Charges Policy following consultation with the relevant Cabinet Member(s) and any appropriate public consultation processes. This delegation does not extend to introducing new charges.

(iv)  To instruct officers to prepare and carry out a review of Resident Parking Permits (to include a public consultation) on the wider principles of permit charges and permit eligibility in the context of current parking demand, capacity and other related transport and parking policies, which will inform any changes to the Residents Parking Policy. The outcome of this review to be reported back to Cabinet in due course.

Reasons for the decision

1.  To ensure that permit charges reflect the increased costs of operating the Resident Parking Zones, while also managing demand on the public highway and encouraging sustainable travel, but that the rate of increase does not constitute a significant additional cost for households before a wider review of the Council’s Resident Parking Policy is carried out.

2.  To ensure that further changes to permit prices and related policies are considered as part of a wider review of the Council’s Resident Parking Policy.

3.  To enable future moderate changes to permit parking charges to be carried out via the standard process.

4.  To ensure that the principles on which the current permit charges and permit policies are based are re-examined in line with current demand, parking capacity, and other related transport and parking policies.

Alternative options considered

Withdrawing the proposals and not increasing Resident Parking Permit Charges. This would leave a shortfall between the costs of operating the Resident Parking Zones and the revenue generated through Resident Parking Permits and Penalty Charge Notices issued for contravention of related restrictions, that would need to be met by other budgets.