Parking fees set to rise for second year in a row

Parking fees at council-run car parks across one Yorkshire county are set to rise for the second year in a row.

North Yorkshire Council officers have advised councillors to increase on and off-street parking tariffs by 10%, in a move which could bring in almost £2m in additional council income.

Parking permits across North Yorkshire could also rise by the same percentage under the proposals, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

Officers have said the proposed increase, which follows a 20% increase last year, was necessary to help pay for a raft of improvements to parking infrastructure, including a £2m-plan to replace all 430 parking machines across the county.

A further £400,000 could be spent on renewing lighting in car parks, as many still have old sodium lights and rusting lamp columns, officers have said.

In a report to members, Steve Brown, the council's head of parking services, said - if approved - the council would undertake the "largest investment into parking infrastructure ever seen in the region".

He added: "This increase recognises this significant investment, and will help maintain high standards in car parking for the next five years."

A report for councillors said last year's rise came after all but one of the former district and borough councils, which were responsible for a majority of off-street parking until 2023, had frozen prices for ten years.

Officers have forecast that a 10% increase in parking fees could push the total income from parking tariffs for 2025/26 to more than £21m.

The proposed rise will be considered by the council's executive at a later date.

Listen to highlights from North Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North.