Somerset Council will be introducing new parking charges across the county following a review which will give consistency and cover inflationary costs.

During August, there will be an overall 10 per cent rise in parking charges across Somerset – though this will vary from car park to car park, in some the increase will be very slightly above or below 10 per cent, as the new fee will be rounded up to the nearest 10p.

Parking season tickets are also being increased by a similar percentage in the measures agreed at the Council’s Annual Budget Meeting.

To provide support for residents, on-street parking permits in residential areas are not increasing.

Prior to the Council’s review of parking charges there was some inconsistency across the county – in some cases parking charges haven’t increased for years.

The new charges recognise and allow for inflationary pressures and will ensure the Council can meet its transport objectives without increasing additional demand on its budget.

A full breakdown of the new charges across Somerset will be published shortly.

Somerset Council’s Service Director for Infrastructure and Transport, David Carter said:

We are always reluctant to increase charges, particularly during the cost of living crisis. However, with inflation running at 10 per cent we have to recover our costs of running the service.

Any revenue generated will be ring-fenced and put back into meeting transport and highways objectives.