Parking charges planned at country park

Visitors to Gedling Country Park can currently make a voluntary donation when they use the car park

A Nottinghamshire country park could start charging visitors for parking as part of a plan to boost income at the site.

Gedling Borough Council has outlined its intention to bring in a minimum £2 parking fee at Gedling Country Park in a report.

People who park at the site can currently donate to the park if they choose to, and the council must run a consultation and change a legal order before it can demand drivers pay.

The site opened in 2014 and in December 2017, voluntary donations were introduced, providing between £4,000 and £6,000 a year in supplementary income, the report said.

The report stated the council wants to "maximise" the income the park produces, and said £2 was a competitive charge compared to other Nottinghamshire parks.

This proposed fee forms part of the public consultation needed to amend the regulations around parking, the Local Democracy Reporting Service said.

The borough council currently uses its existing budget for any maintenance at the park, which has 250 car parking spaces.

Council documents note the upper car park has "major problems" with potholes, with any money for repairs currently coming from other sources.

If charges are not introduced, the council said it would "limit the extent of further developments and/or major repairs due to a need to borrow".

Gedling Borough Council is also looking at introducing options to pay for parking by phone

It is expected new parking fees would mean fewer cars would use the site but the expected income charges could generate up to £200,000 for the council, it said.

A final parking charge figure would be approved at a future council cabinet meeting following the outcome of the public consultation.

Alongside the new charges, the council said it was also looking at introducing a pay-by-phone parking service across council-owned car parks in the borough, involving people paying via a smartphone app.

The authority also wants to update existing machines to take card payments.