Move to 'simplify' parking charges is 'illogical' says Lancaster landlord

As we reported last month, the council is to radically overhaul parking tariffs and ‘simplify the structure’, which has been described as the most complicated in the county.

It means motorists using most council car parks in Lancaster will pay the same fee for the same time period, day and night.

This will result in the current £1.50 evening charge being replaced with charges of £1 for 30 minutes, £2 for one hour, £4 for three hours and £9 for nine hours.

A new £5 for five hours tariff will be introduced at the lower and upper St Leonardgate car parks to support arts and cultural organisations.

It had been feared that theatre and restaurant customers would otherwise be deterred, just as theatres, arts venues and restaurants recover from lockdown.

Also new will be a 30-minute charge in some car parks for those wanting to pop to shops, businesses and offices.

The current £1.50 charge for an hour’s daytime parking in Lancaster will rise to £2 and the £2.50 charge for three hours parking will increase to £4. It will cost £9 to park for nine hours.

Lancaster Pubwatch chair Tim Tomlinson, landlord of the White Cross, Merchants and Stonewell Tap, described the changes as ‘a backwards step’.

“I struggle to see the logic in it,” he said. “When we are trying to come out of a difficult two years, it would seem to dissuade people from visiting.”

Visitors to Williamson Park will pay £1.20 to park for an hour, up from £1, while the all day charge will be £3.50, up from £2.

Morecambe parking charges will also change although there will be more options owing to the nature of the town’s geography and reasons for visiting.

A three-hour maximum stay will be introduced in well-used Morecambe car parks in Peddar Street, West View, the library and opposite Skipton Street to ensure a turnover of spaces.

The car park nearest to Happy Mount Park in Morecambe (Coastal Road) will see its charge for a four hour stay rise from £1 to £4 although there are cheaper tariffs for shorter stays.

Public car parking permits are to increase by 3.3 per cent too.

In future the council may also consider a comprehensive restriction on the parking of motorhomes in Marine Road and extending charges to other, currently free, car parks including at Half Moon Bay at Heysham, Ryelands Park in Lancaster and Bull Beck at Caton.

It is the first time since 2018 that car park charges have increased.

Coun Gina Dowding, cabinet member with responsibility for planning and place making, said: “This new tariff structure has been developed using best practice in other areas, feedback from car park users and consultation with key stakeholders, including representatives of the cultural and night time economy in the district.”

“The city council is focusing on convenience for the users of our car parks and by April 1 the majority will have card payment machines installed. We also want to invest in better infrastructure, such as more EV charging points, and the changes to the tariffs will help to pay for this.”

The city council is currently working towards making the parking changes by April 7.