Parking permit fee hike approved by councillors

Ipswich Borough Council's executive has approved plans to increase parking permit fees

A council has approved an increase to parking permit fees to prevent a budget loss.

Members of Ipswich Borough Council's executive met on Monday evening to discuss the rise over the next four years.

Jane Riley, a Labour councillor and who presented the proposals, said the changes would ensure the service remained sustainable.

Ian Fisher, a Conservative councillor on the Labour-led authority, opposed the plans as he believed the council was passing the burden onto the taxpayer.

Ms Riley told the meeting: "The cost of enforcement is increasing year on year - the actual scheme account is still in surplus but, if it were to continue at that level without any increases in permit fees, we would run out of money in about three years."

At the beginning of the current financial year, the surplus amounted to £167,253, reports the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

The changes only apply to fees within the resident parking scheme, and include a £2 annual increase for first resident permits from £60 to £70 by the 2028/29 financial year, while second resident permits will increase from £120 to £140.

In the same timeframe, business permits will also increase from £300 to £400 in £20 increments and carers’ permits from £15 to £25 - these are issued to statutory care organisations such as the NHS and have only been increased once in more than 15 years, the report stated.

The permit increases will happen over a number of years in Ipswich

These changes were approved by councillors with five votes for and one against from Mr Fisher.

He welcomed the smaller increases over time but said more needed to be done to ensure savings were found.

"We’re saying that we need to make this service balanced, great, but we’re lumping it all on the people who use the service and it looks to me all we’re looking to do is spend more and more on the service and not make any efficiency savings in the way we run the service at all," he told the meeting.

"We’re just looking to pass it all on to the taxpayer which is what we always do."

Ms Riley reassured members that the council’s objective was for the cost not to fall on taxpayers but rather on those who use the service.

The council also approved an introduction of a £40 fee per permit, per year, for places of worship and an increase from £25 to £40 per year for school permits.