Parking charge increase planned by Shropshire Council to raise £1.7 million

Shropshire Council says the changes, set to be debated at a council cabinet meeting next week, will provide extra cash to maintain and repair the county’s car parks.

In Shrewsbury, parking tariffs would be raised at a host of town centre car parks, with the council hoping to encourage motorists to park outside the River Severn ‘loop’.

Sundays and Bank Holidays would also be charged at the full rate under the proposals.

However the “under-used” car park at Raven Meadows will remain at its current £2 rate for the time being.

Elsewhere, tariffs would be increased in Ludlow, Bridgnorth, Ellesmere, Oswestry, Market Drayton, Much Wenlock, Wem and Church Stretton, with Sundays and Bank Holidays being charged at half the full rate.

A report to the cabinet says: “This report proposes the increase in parking tariffs throughout the Council area to come into effect for the financial year 2024/25, though it focusses primarily on Shrewsbury town in order to manage capacity and reduce the level of traffic within the Severn River loop.

“Shrewsbury contributes 71 per cent of the overall increase in parking income whilst Shropshire (excluding Shrewsbury) contributes 29 per cent. This significant imbalance illustrates the need to influence the behaviour of motorists in Shrewsbury.

“The primary objective is to encourage motorists to park outside the river loop, reducing the number of vehicles entering the town centre, and when they do there is an increased likelihood of finding a space quickly to minimise emissions. As such the largest tariff increases should be in the centre with lower increases elsewhere.”

The report says the changes could realise an extra £1.76m for council coffers, which would be used to “implement a programme of works to repair and improve the car park infrastructure” as well as developing residents' parking zones in Shrewsbury town centre.

A “Parking Asset Improvement Plan”, including a database of all current council car parks and the improvements required to them, would also be created as part of the proposed new strategy.

“Our 83 Shropshire car parks have not kept pace with maintenance requirements such as surfacing, lining, signing, drainage, boundaries, green assets, cleaning etc,” the report added.

“A recent asset improvement exercise prioritised by parking services saw thirteen car parks identified with an investment need of £400K (2023/4), not on improvements, just to maintain steady asset state.”

The proposals will be discussed at the meeting of Shropshire Council's cabinet on Wednesday, January 17.