Cuts to some York parking charges approved
It follows a backlash to hikes
Cuts to some York parking charges have been approved following a backlash which prompted a review into hikes brought in last year.
York Council’s executive approved cutting the two-year cost of residents’ Minster Badge permits by £15 and increasing discounts to 50 per cent in community parking areas in a decision on Wednesday, September 9.
Cllr Kate Ravilious, the council’s Labour transport spokesperson, said the changes struck the right balance between supporting local residents and making travel more sustainable.
But traders told the executive the changes did not go far enough as businesses say last year’s hikes have contributed to a drop in footfall and sales.
Wednesday’s decision has lowered the cost of a Minster Badge from £45 for two years to £15-a-year.
Discounts at the Bishopthorpe Road, East Parade and Rowntree Park car parks and for on-street parking in Micklegate and The Groves will rise from 30 to 50 per cent.
The changes are set to come into effect in the coming weeks once council parking systems have been updated.
It follows a review by consultants Arup into the handling of hikes in Bishopthorpe Road, Heworth, Micklegate and The Groves into the impact of parking charge hikes in April 2025.
Changes in those car parks which brought them in line with central council-run sites were reversed the following June following an outcry from residents, traders and opposition councillors.
The review, costing £120,000, found the hikes had not been brought in in line with best practice and respondents reported using car parks less often or going elsewhere.
But it also found the hikes had broadly been in line with measures taken elsewhere in the UK and the council had to balance competing priorities including tackling congestion.
The council has said last year’s hikes were needed to help meet the goal of cutting congestion by a fifth by 2030 which requires people to use their cars less.
It also said it was impossible to separate the impact of the hikes from other national and international economic factors which have dampened footfall and spending in York and nationally.
But traders including Mark Jones, of Cleggs in Goodramgate, have said charges at central car parks not subject to the newly-increased Minster Badge discounts were putting customers and tourists off.
Charges in those car parks now stand at £5-an-hour for the first two hours from Sunday to Thursday, with a 10 per cent premium applying on Fridays, Saturdays and during events.
Ruth Phillips, co-owner of Bishopthorpe Road’s Good Food Shop, told the executive traders there estimated they had collectively lost £1.6 million since April 2025’s hikes.
Johnny Hayes, the former chairman of Indie York, said the hikes were a serious failure of professional judgement and a city-wide parking strategy was now needed.
Mr Hayes said: “The increases to my mind were over-zealous, the changes to the Minster Badge are a step in the right direction but they’re not enough.”
Liberal Democrat opposition leader Cllr Nigel Ayre said the hikes had driven people away to out-of-town shopping parks and elsewhere instead of boosting walking, cycling and public transport use.
The opposition leader said: “You have been like lemmings hurtling towards a cliff discussing the correct speed of the approach and promising to look at the reasons why after the impact.”
Labour Transport Executive Member Cllr Ravilious said positive changes in travel habits were now being seen in York following the hikes, leading to bus operators putting more services on.
She added that more Park & Ride trips were taken last December than ever before and cycling had also increased.
The executive member said: “Increasing parking charges has enabled us to invest more in sustainable travel and to bring forward a record-breaking £16.5 million programme of highways improvements.
“We recognise that the way increases were introduced did not represent best practice and we’ve taken those lessons to heart.
“Reducing the cost of the Minster Badge will strike the right balance.”