A review of pay and display car parks across East Staffordshire could see the phasing out of ticket machines by 2025.
East Staffordshire Borough Council has been examining the operation of its pay and display car parks across the Borough.
The aim is to better understand car park usage and the operation of the Council’s car parks.
Since 2017/18, car parking ticket sales have dropped by 50 per cent in East Staffordshire, with the council saying that the COVID pandemic is likely to have played a large part in this decline.
The parking review suggests that this decline in sales could also be due to private sector providers setting favourable tariffs to entice drivers.
As a result, the council has proposed that sections of certain car parks across the Borough could be converted into urban public parks to enhance the environment.
Findings show that parking machines and their operation currently represent the highest financial outlay and time consumption in the running of a car park.
To combat this, the council has agreed to undertake a full consultation on the potential phasing out of parking machines by 2025 and the complete move over to other payment methods such as app-based and pay by phone purchases.
The research has also highlighted that East Staffordshire Borough Council’s pricing structure is currently towards the lower end of the tariff scale for a two hour stay when compared to other neighbouring authorities.
Consequently, a change to car park pricing has been approved, seeing a two hour stay increase to £1.90, thereby matching the average price charged by similar local authorities.
Another focus of this review is the council’s ‘Free After 3’ scheme. Given the decline in footfall shown throughout this car park review, the Council has opted to cease this service from March 31st 2024.
Cllr Dennis Fletcher, Cabinet Member for Environment and Climate Change, said: “The Council continues to examine and improve upon the many services it provides. This review into the Borough’s car parks highlights several areas in which changes are needed, ensuring that appropriate updates are made to the services provided.”
“ The parking review suggests that this decline in sales could also be due to private sector providers setting favourable tariffs to entice drivers.” to which one of their answers is “ Consequently, a change to car park pricing has been approved, seeing a two hour stay increase to £1.90, thereby matching the average price charged by similar local authorities.”
You couldn’t make this up could you!