Issue details

This report sets out proposals to amended car parking charges for member consideration. These amended charges will apply from the current financial year onwards, as set out in the Medium Term Financial Strategy (MTFS) approved at Full Council in February 2023.

Lichfield District Council owns and operates 20 off-street Pay and Display and Pay on Exit Car Parks in close proximity to Lichfield City Centre. Car parking fees generate income for the council which is used to ensure adequate car parking facilities for residents, visitors and businesses which is safe, effective and easy to use.

Upgrades to surfaces, machinery, electric vehicle charging points and signage have recently been undertaken, alongside investments in new technologies (ANPR) and payment methods, to make using our car parking areas as user friendly as possible. Future revenue from this service will also be invested in CCTV and lighting improvements, with a Variable Messaging System (VMS), to direct visitors to the most suitable car parks, due to be installed and operational in early 2024. There is also a plan to accredit the city centre to ‘Purple Flag’ status to ensure visitors have a positive experience during the evening and night time economy.

Our most popular short-stay car parks are over-subscribed and use of these convenient locations is often ‘blocked’ by all day users, through this fee change we seek to incentivise ‘long stay’ users to more appropriate locations to ensure that ‘short stay’ capacity is available at peak times. This is achieved by increasing the price of short-stay parking over 2 hours while reducing the cost of long-stay car parking across the board. The introduction of a free 30 minute option is further designed to assist residents who use the town centre to access key services.

The fees have not been reviewed for a significant period of time (c10 years). All fees are subject to statutory consultation periods, but subject to this consultation, will not take effect until January 2024.