Southampton City Council could extend parking charges into the night

Cash-strapped city council bosses want to extend parking charges into the evening to bring in some much-needed income to save public services under threat of cuts.

It would mean people visiting restaurants, bars and theatres in the city centre could soon be paying until 10.30pm to park in 90 city centre streets, 19 off-street car parks and roads with single yellow lines.

Council transport boss Asa Thorpe says the plans are part of a review of parking charges across the city centre pay-anddisplay zone which would rake in welcome funding and allow the council to catch up with private car park operators.

However business owners fear customers would be put off by the introduction of evening charges, while opposition councillors have attacked the move as a “tax on the city centre economy”.

Charges are currently in effect across the pay-and-display zone from 8am to 6pm from Monday to Saturday.

The council has identified three options to extend charging into the evening.

They are:

• Existing daytime charges extended until 10.30pm in all pay-and-display areas and off-street car parks.

• Existing daytime charges extended to 10.30pm in off-street car parks and 8pm in pay-and-display areas.

• Existing daytime charges extended until 8pm in all pay-anddisplay areas and off-street car parks.

In all of the options multistorey car parks in the city centre would continue to charge until midnight, except West Park, which would charge until 10pm.

Cllr Thorpe said: “This city council is strapped for cash. We have less money coming from central Government and so we have the choice of cutting services, increasing charges or bringing in new income streams.

“We have not had a review of our parking charges since 2009, so I think this is an area that we really need to look at and we need to see how we can be more competitive while at the same time maximising the income available to the council.

“I think Southampton is the only south coast town which does not charge for evening parking.”

Conservative group deputy leader Jeremy Moulton criticised the plans, saying: “It’s a tax on the city centre economy, it’s a tax on hard-working people who work in the city centre in the evenings and it will push out commuters into the areas outside the city centre.

“People in those areas will be competing for parking spaces with commuters in the evening as well as the day.

“It is just a tax-raising measure, which will be destructive all round apart from the fact that it will line the council coffers.”

There are also fears the evening charges could impact on restaurants, theatres, bars and other businesses in the affected area.

Michael Ockwell, chief executive of The Mayflower theatre, said: “Anything that would have an impact on our attendances would be a concern, and it would also have a knock-on effect on other small businesses.“ We have 2,300 people who would come to a sold-out show so anything that could prevent customers parking and coming in would make it more difficult in quite challenging times.

“We are in direct competition with theatres in London, and one of the differences between The Mayflower and theatres in London is the ease with which you can park near to the theatre.”

Michael Chung, who manages Zen bistro and bar in High Street, said: “I think the council is being greedy. It will affect people working in the evening, not just people going to bars and restaurants.

“People are trying to save money and I think this will put a lot of people off parking up in the evening.”

More travel news: