By Joe Locker, Local Democracy Reporter
Parking charges at locations run by Nottingham City Council will be increasing from April.
On-street parking charges have been frozen for the past three years due to the impact of the Covid pandemic.
However the Labour-run authority says it has now made the decision to increase the charges from April 1 this year.
On-street car parking charges will rise from £2.40 to £2.80 in Zone 1, £1.20 to £1.50 in Zone 2, and 60p to 80p in Zone 3.
The purpose of increasing tariffs is to ensure the most effective and efficient use of parking spaces and to “act as a deterrent” to customers in a bid to reduce congestion, council delegated decision documents state.
They say increasing on-street charges should reduce the number of vehicles “cruising” around looking for spaces, which can account for up to 74 per cent of all congestion in the city centre.
“Nottingham City Council reviews its parking charges regularly to ensure that they continue to effectively manage the supply and demand for parking and meet the highways needs with flexible, high quality customer products, which meet the market demands for parking within the city centre, encourage turnover of cars and complement other city and transport strategies,” documents say.
“On-street tariffs have been frozen in Nottingham for the past three years during society’s adjustment to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and the demand and requirements of on-street parking have significantly evolved during this time.
“The proposed tariff changes remain in line with compound inflation and will ensure that on-street price changes are in line with other transport options over the same period.”
Charges for off-street car parks will also be increasing for the second time in 12 months.
Separate delegated decision documents show prices will rise at the Trinity Square, Lace Market, Broad Marsh, Nottingham Castle, Curzon Street, and Sneinton Market Square car parks from April 1.
Back in May charges were increased by as little as 20p and up to as much as £2, depending on the duration.
The exact new charges are currently not being made public.
“The proposed tariff changes take account of inflation and ensure parking price changes are in line with other transport options,” documents add.
“Making no changes to the tariff charges or lowering the tariff charges would both result in detrimental effects to the running and maintenance of these car parks.
“This would severely impact the council’s ability to provide high quality and safe parking within the city centre.
“The increasing cost of maintenance due to inflation paired with stagnation in revenue would mean that the level of maintenance funding availability would reduce or the council would face further financial pressure.”
Nottingham City Council has been contacted for comment.
