Parking charge increases agreed by council

A council has announced it will increase car parking prices from April.

East Suffolk Council's cabinet met on Tuesday for its annual review of its fees and charges and agreed to invest £1m in its car park infrastructure.

However, members also agreed to raise parking costs for the first time since 2020 which Tim Wilson, cabinet member for economic development and transport, said would be in line with inflation.

The East Suffolk Conservative group said it feared the increase would "kill" tourism in some areas.

The new parking fees will come into force from 1 April.

A two-hour parking session, which currently costs £1.50, will rise to £2.

As well as this, a four-hour session will rise from £3 to £3.50, but the council did agree to retain the 30 minutes free parking available in most car parks.

"Parking fees haven't risen in four years, and over that time the council has carried the cost of inflation - now we need to catch parking fees up with inflation, so that's where it will now be, and no higher," Mr Wilson explained.

He added that the council car parks still compared "favourably" with other similar sites.

New seasonal tariffs will also be introduced at car parks in popular tourist destinations, running from 1 March to 31 October in some car park in Aldeburgh, Felixstowe, Lowestoft and Southwold.

This new seasonal tariff will be higher than off-season and aims to ease the demand on busy car parks during the main tourism season.

Mark Jepson, leader of the Conservatives at the council, said he did not see the benefit of the increase for residents or businesses.

"While I recognise the administration's priorities are the environment, they must be balanced against the cost of living challenges our residents face and supporting a thriving economy which is one of their priorities," he added.

During the meeting, Labour ward member for Felixstowe West, Mike Deacon, also shared his concerns and said he was "quite shocked" by the initial proposals.

"My first reaction was, 'are they trying to kill the tourist trade in Felixstowe?' and I really mean that," he said.

Other changes were agreed upon including the option to park for longer within short-stay car parks and reducing parking prices in sites out of town centres to encourage people to park further field and walk into towns.

Contactless payment will also be introduced, in addition to paying through a parking app or with cash.

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