Car park income set to break £2 million in Torridge

People are not being put off by hike in charges

Car park income in Torridge during 2024/25 is expected to smash £2 million, and now the council wants to stop people paying to park with cash..

It’s the first time it has been that high in many years, with drivers not appearing to be put off by the increase in charges.

A four per cent rise in tariffs in April hit them for an extra £37,000 in just one month.

Car parking manager for Torridge District Council Steve Macey told its internal overview and scrutiny committee that car park stays had increased by 20,000 to 770,000 over the last two years.

Most people make electronic payments, which account for nearly 50 per cent of the revenue,  while cash had dropped to 21 per cent. Penalty charge notices brought in around £70,000.

The council also makes money from permits, concessions and events, which it has not yet fully calculated for 2024/25.

With the cost for a firm to collect money from car park machines now around £40,000, the council wants to stop taking cash in the next two-to-three years.

But for now, it won’t be trialling cashless payments in any of its car parks.

New parking machines are set to be installed throughout Torridge next month and there is a new system which allows customers to pay using apps, which is expected to increase car park use.

Mr Macey said the machines would “protect the service” for the next 15-to-20 years, they could display advertisements in the future and they are all expected to be switched to run on solar power this year.

And a minimum of 24 electric vehicle charging points will be operational by the end of the year.

Mr Macey said some councils in Devon are talking about introducing discounts for local people using car parks, but Torridge had prefers to waive charges in the evenings to save people money.

Charges are in place from 8am to 6pm, with the exception of Westward Ho! where they continue until 7pm as an “experiment”.

Mr Macey said fees are still considered “very cheap” compared to some areas as visitors can park for £5.80 all day until the next morning.

He recommended an inflationary rise each year to cope with rising costs and to provide a sound income. He said the number of penalty charge notices was among the lowest in Devon and the council had been proactive in preventing them getting to the bailiff stage.

Members asked for a break down of costs so they could get a clearer picture of how much was spent maintening and running car parks.