Parking charges on the horizon as budget hole grows

The council has been developing a new parking strategy to help raise an extra £15.4m

Parking charges could be introduced across the Wirral as the borough council looks to plug a funding gap.

The news comes after plans to raise about £1m from parking charges were dropped in 2022 when the Labour group - at the time the largest party on the council but without overall control - pulled support for the idea.

Wirral Council would say only that "options are currently being considered" and that there would be a consultation in the autumn.

A report to the authority said there was an expected shortfall of about £300,000 in parking revenue unless a charging policy is brought in.

'Exceeded budget'

The report added: "Furthermore, the Highways Maintenance Service will closely monitor maintenance costs which, in the past, have regularly exceeded budget by up to £400k to ensure a balanced budget is achieved.”

The 2022 plans were shelved after a legal challenge, but both Labour and the Greens said the council could not afford to subsidise parking when its budgets were stretched.

Cllr Paul Stuart, who is now the leader of the Labour-run council, said at the time it was not wise to risk legal challenges when there was a "cost of living crisis" and council budgets were being cut.

Conservative and Liberal Democrat councillors said at the time they would not support the plans, arguing they would damage local businesses.