Evening parking charges to return
They were scrapped post-pandemic to encourage more people into Southampton
Evening parking charges in Southampton city centre are set to come back after the city council’s Labour cabinet dismissed the Tory opposition’s calls to change its mind.
Between 6pm and 8pm, on Monday to Saturday, within the ‘pay and display’ areas, the charges will be as follows:
- For stays of up to 30 minutes – 50p
- For stays of up to 1 hour – £1
- For stays of up to 90 minutes – £1.50
- For stays of up to 2 hours – £2
Off-street parking (car parks) between 6pm and midnight, on Monday to Saturday, these are the charges:
- For stays of up to 1 hour – £1
- For the stays of over 1 hour – £2
A consultation on the reintroduction of the charges garnered over 400 objections, however the council is confident that the reasoning behind bringing back the evening parking charges is still justifiable.
As well as helping towards the vision of a more sustainable transport network, the council says that the charges will help the turnover of car parking spaces which will mean that more people can find a space.
Councillor Eamonn Keogh, cabinet member for transport said: “It’s important we ensure parking spaces are available for visitors, people who work in the night-time economy etc.”
Cllr Keogh went on to talk about how, despite the reintroduction not being about making revenue, the additional income will support other areas of transport improvement such as roads and buses.
He said: “As an administration we are spending a record amount on improving our highways.’
The council will review the charges in four months to see if it is as successful as it hopes it will be.
Councillor Lorna Fielker, cabinet member for health, adults and leisure, who stood in for council leader Satvir Kaur at yesterday’s (18th October) cabinet meeting, noted the two other recommendations that the Tory opposition gave them.
One was to use metrics in the four-month review to accurately see if the reintroduction has been economically worthwhile and the other recommendation was to supply the opposition with the results of the review for scrutiny.
Cllr Fielker said: “We have listened – that’s why the four-month review is going on.
“I think it’s the right thing to do at the right time and we will look again in four months.”