West Bromwich parking charges to more than double from tomorrow as council hikes fees

The authority will bump up prices across its town car parks by as much as 150 per cent.

Charges have not increased in Sandwell since 2016 but the cost of maintaining car parks has, said council bosses.

Councillor Danny Millard, cabinet member for environment and highways, said increases would bring the authority “up to date” and ensure it could “provide quality car parks and services”.

The biggest price increase is in four-hour stays, with the cost jumping from £1.60 to £4. That is followed by three hours of parking which will cost £3 instead of the £1.20 set previously.

Two hours will cost £2 instead of 80p, and one hour will be £1 instead of 40p. Only 40p for one hour of parking has remained the same under the new charges.

Annual passes, covering five days of parking per week, will shoot up from £240 to £600 – a 150 per cent increase.

Parking charges are set to increase again with the introduction of a second phase of new parking tariffs from January 1, 2024.

It will cost £8.50 from that date onwards to park for a full day instead of £4 currently and £8 from October.

Charges are not increasing quite so drastically from October 1 elsewhere in Sandwell. Parking for one hour at council car parks in the borough, but outside of West Bromwich, will cost 10p extra.

Four hours of parking will cost £2 instead of £1.60. A day ticket will be the same and a 30-minute stop will cost 20p less to “help businesses with passing trade”, said the council.

The authority added that income generated from off-street and on-street car parking charges was used to maintain car parks, provide new parking restrictions, such as residents’ parking schemes, tackle school gate parking, provide related highway services and also highway improvements.

Council bosses said the increases would allow them “to continue delivering parking, traffic and highway services”, as well as supporting other policy objectives such as “improving air quality, tackling climate change and supporting local businesses”.

Councillor Millard said: “Parking charges have not increased since 2016 but the cost of maintaining our car parks has gone up over this period.

“Like all local authorities we face significant financial pressures and need to use our limited resources as efficiently and effectively as possible.

“These changes will bring our parking charges up to date, and ensure we can continue to meet the cost of providing quality car parks and related services.

"We’re trying to balance the available parking with demand and support our wider ambitions to improve air quality, tackle climate change and support local businesses.”