Cotswold off-peak parking charge proposals backed

Parking charges on Sundays and at off-peak times could be introduced by Cotswold District Council.

A proposal to charge a standard rate on Sundays and £1.50 between 1800-0800 at all council-owned and managed car and lorry parks, has been unveiled

Councillor David Fowles from CDC said the proposals were a "fair way" of raising income and "could net the council as much as £50,000 per year".

The recommendation will be subject to a three-month public consultation period.

Charging 'imbalance'

Mr Fowles said that residents had told the council that the current charging regime "doesn't seem fair".

"We believe that smoothing out charges to include off-peak periods and Sundays will help redress the current imbalance in charging," he said.

Jonathan Davies, president of Cirencester's Chamber of Commerce, said he would be "very much against" new charges being introduced purely to raise additional revenue.

"Introducing a Sunday charge and possibly evening charges is worth looking at if they reduce charges at other times," he added.

The Conservative-controlled council said that local residents and businesses that hold season tickets would not be affected by this change.