Forest of Dean Council U-turn on 300% parking charge rise

The new parking charge changes, if approved, would see free parking for the first hour

Council leaders have made a U-turn over plans to hike parking charges by 300%, and will now offer the first hour free.

Forest of Dean District Council are considering increasing fees and charges as part of their budget for the next financial year.

Initial plans were to increase the cost to park for the minimum stay of up to two hours from 50p to £2.

However, after receiving strong feedback during the public consultation they have dropped these proposals.

The final budget will be debated by councillors at a meeting in Coleford later this month.

Council leader Mark Topping said they have listened to the public and hoped the new parking charge scheme will be one that meets the needs of residents and businesses.

"One thing that came out of the consultation was how important the free spaces were," he said.

"That ability to come and go. If you're going to pop in for something like a pint of milk, newspaper or a prescription, having to pay any charge, even if it's 50p, is a pain for people."

The final budget will be debated by councillors later this month

The new parking charge changes, if approved, would see free parking rolled out to all council car parks for the first hour, the Local Democracy Reporting Service said.

After that, charges would be applied:

• For up to two hours, it will be £1.50

• For up to three hours, it will be £2

• For up to four hours, it will be £2.50

People parking for the whole day would be expected to pay £3 versus the current £2 rate.

'Make a difference'

Mr Topping said: "This huge extension in both the number of free spaces available and the length of time extended from 30 minutes to an hour will make a big difference to a lot of people.

"We really have taken on board what people have said and responded accordingly."

The car parks currently run at a loss of around of £15,000 a year.

The now-axed proposals to hike charges by up to 300% would have generated around £200,000, finance chiefs estimated.