Changes to car parking charges across Lancaster and Morecambe will become effective from April 11.
New parking tariffs will come into effect on Monday April 11
The changes have been put in place following a three-year price freeze on parking in Lancaster City Council pay and display car parks.
The new tariffs aim to provide a more consistent approach, aligning charges, and removing differences between long and short stay car parks.
Among the changes are the introduction of a 30-minute tariff for those wanting to make a short trip to the bank or shops.
Following feedback from the arts and culture sector, a £5 for 5 hours tariff will also be introduced on the two St Leonardgate car parks. This will be available at all times.
The council has also listened to the views of local businesses on how increases in tariffs might affect the night-time economy. As a result, an additional 6pm – 8am tariff of £4 has been introduced in car parks across Lancaster and Morecambe, effective from May 6.
Councillor Gina Dowding, cabinet member with responsibility for planning and place making, said: “For some time now it has been apparent that our parking charges have needed a radical overhaul.
“We were in the position where we had 47 different tariff bands and adjacent car parks charged different amounts for similar amounts of time.
“With this parking review we’ve tried to consolidate the tariffs and make the tariff structure easier to understand.
“As is the case for many councils we are in a challenging financial position and the money raised from parking is a vital source of income that funds many of our vital services.
“Since the original proposal was made, the city council has listened to the feedback of various stakeholders and has amended some of the tariffs.”
For those who use city council car parks regularly there are a number of options available that are more cost-effective and include 7 day, 1 month, 3 month and 12 month RingGo Session permits.
This easy and convenient cashless method of parking, which also has an app, not only allows people to pay for their parking from the comfort of their cars and avoid queuing at ticket machines, but also offers car park users the flexibility of being able to top up their parking time by phone wherever they are. Text reminders are received when it’s about to run out so is perfect for people on-the-go.
Five-day permits are also available and mean being able to park in Lancaster from as little as £2.23 a day, or £1.37 in Morecambe. Visit https://myringgo.co.uk for more information.
Over the years a complicated pricing structure led to 47 individual tariffs, with some car parks catering for short stays and others for those wanting to stay for longer.
This saw some adjacent car parks operating different pricing structures, leading to confusion from motorists. As part of its budget for 2022/23, the council wanted to consolidate these tariffs and simplify the structure.
All the income we generate helps us to fund our vital services to support communities, residents and businesses. These services are needed more than even as we begin the recovery from Covid.
The additional income raised will also allow us to invest in our car parks through the provision of better facilities such as an increase in EV charging points.
Car parking spaces are at a premium and we find people often have to drive around looking for a space. The new pricing structure should encourage a more regular turnover of spaces, making it easier for people to find one when they need it. In turn, we hope this will mean more people will visit our town and city centres as it will be easier to park.
It should also help to reduce air pollution as motorists won’t need to drive around looking for a space.
We’ve also introduced a new 30-minute tariff for £1 for those people who need to ‘pop in’ for a quick trip to a shop, bank or post office.
We received a number of representations following the publication of our original proposals, following which we have made some changes.
To support the arts and culture sector we have introduced a £5 tariff for 5 hours on the two St Leonardgate car parks. This will be available at all times.
The council has also listened to the views of local businesses on how increases in tariffs might affect the night-time economy. As a result, an additional 6pm – 8am tariff of £4 will be introduced in car parks across Lancaster and Morecambe, effective from May.
For those who use our car parks regularly there are a number of options available that are more cost-effective than pay and display. We offer 7-day, 1-month, 3-month and 12-month RingGo Session permits which can be conveniently
Five-day permits are also available and mean being able to park in Lancaster from as little as £2.23 a day, or £1.37 in Morecambe.
The city council is committed to helping people to convert to zero emission vehicles, reducing transport related emissions and promoting more sustainable forms of transport. We have also committed to reducing air pollution and the council’s impact on climate change.
A key element to achieving these aims is creating new infrastructure to make it easier for people to use electric vehicles.
Electric charging points are available in 10 of our car parks and we have plans to install many more. You can find a full list of all the current locations on our website: lancaster.gov.uk/parking/electric-vehicle-ev-charge-points
No. On-Street parking (including resident parking schemes) is the responsibility of Lancashire County Council. The new fee structure only affects Lancaster City Council’s off-street pay & display car parks.
