WILTSHIRE Council has issued a reminder that car parking charges in the county are soon set to rise to help pay for “increasing costs”.
This will be the first increase since 2022, the council said, despite inflation increasing by around 28% during that period.
The changes follow a public consultation which saw the council amend or withdraw several of its original proposals after considering feedback from the 1,762 responses from residents, businesses and town and parish councils.
Pay and display parking charges will increase by an average of 20%, rounded to the nearest 10p with season ticket and permit charges also increasing in line with the revised tariffs.
The council has also revised some parking arrangements to reflect the different roles played by short-stay and long-stay car parks, while supporting “Wiltshire’s wider transport objectives.”
Councillor Martin Smith, Cabinet Member for Highways, said: “Parking charges haven’t risen in Wiltshire since 2022, and given significant inflation during that time, we had to raise them now to help pay for the increasing costs in providing the service and to reinvest in our wider transport infrastructure, including our rural bus network.
“That said, we have listened to feedback we received during the consultation and made several changes to our original proposals as a result.
“These changes strike a balance between supporting our town and city centres, managing parking effectively and ensuring we can continue to invest in transport and highways services across Wiltshire.
“The changes also reflect our commitment in Our Wiltshire Plan to improve public transport options across the county.”
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Changes to Wiltshire Council car parks
The main changes to Wiltshire Council car park charges and other arrangements are as follows:
To help support leisure and community-based activities, Sunday charging hours will remain as they currently are, from 10am rather than the proposal to extend charges to start at 7am.
There will be a 20% increase in pay and display parking charges, rounded to the nearest 10p. This is against an inflation rate of 28% since the last price increase.
Season ticket and permit charges will increase in line with the revised tariffs, though these remain heavily discounted against the normal daily parking charge.
Parking charges are extended to 7am to 7pm in short-stay car parks only. Long stay car parks will retain the 8am-6pm charging hours.
Sunday on-street parking charges will not be introduced in Salisbury.
Sunday tariffs will be aligned with weekday tariffs in short-stay car parks only – long-stay car parks will retain a day-rate charging structure.
Long-stay car parks will keep the existing charging hours, with the exception of Dunns Lane car park in Castle Combe.
As The Maltings car park in Salisbury has a distinct role in city centre hospitality and leisure, the existing charging hours will remain.
Charges will be introduced for weekend public use of selected council-owned car parks, including County Hall in Trowbridge and the Bridge Centre in Chippenham.
Sunday charging will not be introduced at Cross Hayes, Malmesbury, or Marlborough High Street, as these are on-street car parks.
The changes will come into effect on September 1. For more details, visit the Wiltshire Council website.
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