Parking charges go 24/7 in West Berkshire
The cost of on street parking is going up across West Berkshire.
The move is designed to boost the council bank balance by £3.5m next year.
That’s £500,000 more than it made last year.
The estimated cost of providing the parking service is around £2m, with income of £3.5m.
This gives a net income to the council of £1.5m.
It’s all part of the new parking strategy for the next 10 years.
The council has 15 parking enforcement officers, and it says, rather ominously, that enforcement “will include the controls in place to deal with inconsiderate or unauthorised parking under its control”. There is no more publicly available information on what such controls are.
The council expects to make around £330,000 in penalty charge notices (PCNs) and £50,000 from residents’ permits.
The civil enforcement officers (CEOs) are equipped with PCN issuing equipment, the ability to capture images of parking contraventions, radios, mobile phones and body cameras “for improved safety in confrontational situations”.
In addition to parking, enforcement also takes place on unauthorised vehicles using Park Way Bridge in Newbury using a bus lane camera.
So where are extra the charges coming in?
There are 17 zoned areas which get the lift.
There are different charges for different hours, but largely the first 30 minutes is free, and it then ranges from £1 for an hour, to £2.20 up to four hours and then between £1.50 and £4 for over four hours, depending where you are.
There are £1 evening charges across all the Newbury, Thatcham and Hungerford on-street sites, making charging 24/7.
On Bartholomew Street there’s a one-hour maximum stay with no return and the same at Newtown Road, Pelican Lane and Northbrook Street.
The council says the additional income generated will “continue to secure expeditious, convenient and safe movement of traffic, sustainable transport systems and provide suitable and adequate parking facilities on and off the public highway”.
It also says the scheme is designed to “positively influence the environmental impact of travel in West Berkshire, and in conjunction with our place-making strategies, protect and enhance the economic vitality of our town centres”.
Disabled drivers don’t escape the hit either.
Through the national scheme blue badge holders are allowed to park without charge or time limit in otherwise restricted on-street parking environments and it allows them to park on yellow lines for up to three hours, unless a loading ban is in place.
Free parking will be available in West Berkshire Council car parks for the first three hours for blue badge holders before they get charged. (Previously there was no time limit.)
The council says these changes “reflect the proposals in the parking strategy which overall seeks to deliver improved services for disabled users, by seeking to introduce more disabled parking bays where demand exceeds supply”.
A public consultation was launched into the council’s new parking strategy this time last year.
Only 631 responses were received – although the council hasn’t published the comments.
That’s about two per cent of potential parkers in West Berkshire council car spaces, but ticks the box for the administration to say ‘you have been asked’.
Council figures show there are a total of 2,603 council spaces (including car parks) in West Berkshire, and 2,358 spaces from other providers.
There are 159 council parking spaces in Hungerford, 43 in Lambourn, 1,800 in Newbury during the week and 1,950 during the weekends. Pangbourne has 94, Thatcham 44 and Theale 67.
West Berkshire parking changes explained:
The council wants to change some of the long-term parking in Newbury into short-term parking spaces.
The council is also reviewing things in a post-pandemic ways of working mode, as fewer people now travel to work and need to park.
Prior to the Covid pandemic, it was expected that Newbury would require additional car parking capacity within a few years.
Changing habits now mean that the reverse is true and that is reflected in the downward trajectory of parking related revenue.
According to the Office for National Statistics, at the end of 2022, 16 per cent of working adults work entirely from home, while 28 per cent work in a hybrid manner (part at home, and part at work). Workers are more likely to work from home or hybrid as their income increases.
The impacts of Covid, in particular, have seen increased consumer spending moving online and away from high streets, leading to a huge growth in home deliveries.
The focus on the environment is also seeing a change to electric vehicles with different infrastructure requirements to petrol and diesel-engined vehicles.
Permits
Where residents have no off-street parking available, they are able to purchase two permits.
All permits cost £30 each year, except for Hungerford High Street and Park Terrace, Newbury, where the charge is £70.
The higher charge is because residents are using spaces that would otherwise be chargeable to the general public. (It is as yet unclear if the permit fees will increase.)
There are 16 separate resident permit zones, available for residents of 89 streets, allowing parking in 68 streets, including an on-street charging area, and two car parks.
The zones do not cover all areas, but are applicable in areas where parking is in high demand:
• Newbury – nine zones
• Hungerford – two zones
• Chieveley, Lambourn, Pangbourne, Thatcham, and Theale have one zone each.
There are 27 council-operated car parks in West Berkshire.
In Hungerford, turnover in Church Street is four times that of Station Road.
The Kingsland Centre is used far more than the other Thatcham car parks.
How to pay for parking
All West Berkshire on street parking has a pay by mobile phone service. Each location has its own location number, shown alongside the name, that’s needs to be used when paying the parking charge by mobile phone.
All car parks have machines that accept coins, except for :
Goldwell Park
Northcroft Lane West
Station Road, Thatcham
The following pay and display car parks also accept card payments:
Northcroft Lane West, Newbury
Pelican Lane, Newbury
Wharf, Newbury
Station Road, Pangbourne
Kingsland Centre, Thatcham
There are four pay on foot car parks in Newbury and one in Hungerford, which accept notes and debit/credit cards:
Central Library
Corn Exchange (Bear Lane)
Kennet Shopping centre
Northbrook
Station Road, Hungerford
You can also choose to ‘pay-by-phone’ but transactions will incur a 5p service charge.
