Liverpool car park could have charges increased

Mount Pleasant car park is a busy city centre car park

Increased parking charges could be introduced at one of Liverpool's key city centre car parks amid plans to extend evening fees in the city.

Later this week, Liverpool City Council's cabinet is expected to sign off a statutory consultation into a widespread parking revamp.

The plans could include increased charges at the popular Mount Pleasant car park.

Free evening parking has previously been mooted for the axe in the plans.

Currently, drivers can leave their cars on roads without charge from 18:00, but under the new proposals charges would be allowed from 07:00 to 23:00.

Parking would also increase by 10p per half hour, in a move the council said would raise £1.6m.

However, in a fresh report Ken Prior, the council's new head of parking, said a shortfall of £600,000 was expected to that target, the Local Democracy Reporting Service said.

Therefore local authority officers were considering various possible options to mitigate it, including extending the opening hours and reviewing the charging structure at Mount Pleasant.

'Own goal'

The report said charges and availability of contract parking permits at Mount Pleasant were also under review, as well as increasing the hours of coverage of enforcement of the existing bus gate.

Addressing the council's neighbourhoods committee, Mr Prior said it was "a bit odd" the Mount Pleasant site currently closed at 20:00.

Liberal councillor Steve Radford said he feared a move to charge until 23:00 could represent the council "killing off the goose that lays the golden egg" and scoring an "own goal."

Liberal Democrat Richard Clein said the late night charge would "no doubt put people off coming into the city centre" at a time when "hospitality is really struggling".

He called for an "army of wardens" outside of the city centre to clamp down on problem parking in the "hotspots we know exist".

He added: "People park where they like in this city, it's ridiculous."

The results of a public engagement exercise held in December revealed how almost 90% of respondents were against any changes to the existing system.