Parking price increases to stay despite opposition

The parking fee increase came into effect in April

A hike in car parking costs in Surrey is set to be kept in place for at least another six months despite mounting opposition.

Surrey Heath Borough Council increased charges in April in an effort to raise money for repairs and essential maintenance.

Petitions calling for the scale of changes to be dialled back have gained thousands of signatures.

But Alan Ashbery, lead council member for homes, planning and enforcement, said: “There is a woeful level of repair work with an urgent need to fix the sites or risk their closure.”

Two petitions against the changes gained 158 and 1,808 signatures, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS).

At a council meeting last Wednesday, Conservative councillor Josh Thorne said: “If our small community shopping areas have parking fees attached to them they would disintegrate as they can not compete with the large retail parks who do have free parking.”

The council argued there has been no significant impact on footfall since the changes but that it needed to collect a full year’s worth of data before a clearer picture emerged.

'Competitive offering'

Surrey Heath Borough Council, which runs 17 car parks, has previously said the increase would raise an estimated £410,000.

Parking costs have increased from £1 to £1.50 for up to two hours, and from £1.50 to £2 for up to three hours.

Mr Ashbery, a Lib Dem councillor, questioned whether support for the petitions would have been as strong had the wording been different.

"What if the question was ‘would people be prepared to pay 20p extra an hour to have safely lit car parks, or to have surfaces repaired to help parents with push buggies’," he said.

“Our charges are neither the most expensive nor the cheapest in the surrounding area but represent a competitive offering to our residents.”

Further reviews into the impact of the changes are set to be taken in November and April to judge the impact on revenue and footfall.