Most on-street parking prices frozen at £1 an hour
Parking prices in Brighton & Hove are set to be largely frozen for the next financial year.
A new council report lists over 230 separate tariffs for on-street, off-street and resident parking across the city. Just six of them are proposed for an increase, aimed at controlling high-demand areas and times to address air pollution and congestion concerns.
The report points out that 80 per cent of on-street parking machines charge £1 per hour or £5.20 all day. The main change is that drivers visiting residents in busy central areas will pay more. Visitor permits will rise from £3.50 to £4.50 in Brunswick and Adelaide (Zone M) and Central Brighton North and South (Zones Y and Z).
The council says this reflects higher congestion and parking prices in these areas and compares favourably to usual on-street prices in the zones, ranging from £6.20 to £10.40 for four hours. A visitor permit lasts one calendar day.
Visitor parking in low-tariff areas will rise from £3 to £3.50 for a calendar day permit, which compares favourably to £4 for four hours for other drivers.
Four hours at Brighton’s busiest car park, the Lanes, goes up from £13 to £14, reflecting continued high demand, with vehicles frequently queuing outside.
Four hours at Regency Square goes up from £9 to £10 and nine hours rise from £12 to £13.
Nine hours parking at Norton Road car park goes up 20p.
Vehicles may need to be more eco-friendly than before to qualify for low-emission 50 per cent discount on permits for residents, traders and businesses, as a change to criteria is proposed. Qualifying vehicles will now have to emit no more than 100 grams of CO2 per kilometre, compared to 110 before. Prices will rise 25 per cent for higher-polluting vehicles emitting more than 166 grams per kilometre.
Since April 2017 diesel vehicles no longer qualify for the low emission discount.
New figures are recommended for approval by councillors on the environment transport and sustainability committee on 23 January.
Committee chair Cllr Gill Mitchell said: “Parking charges were introduced to better manage scarce road and parking space – and these few increases reflect that. Otherwise, available spaces would be occupied all day by the same vehicles and the roads would be jammed with cars looking for spaces. Parking prices remain fair given very high demand . All the money raised is spent on older people’s bus passes and other measures to improve transport.”
The report is among the committee’s agenda papers elsewhere on this website.
80 per cent of parking meters will continue to offer
parking starting at £1 an hour, under proposals