Council considering new parking charges

CAR parking costs could be brought in or increased at sites across the borough.

Solihull Council is due to discuss the future of parking in the borough at a meeting today (Thursday) as it plans how to save £499,500 from the parking services budget during the next three years.

Four areas have been identified in the proposal including Knowle Village Centre where there are currently 313 spaces in free off-street car parks with restrictions of up to two or four hours in place.

But under council plans people could have to pay either 40p, 50p or 60p an hour to park although up to three hours parking would be free.

The proposal is the same for Shirley's off-street parking Monday to Friday 8am until 6pm.

There are also currently 190 on-street parking spaces in Shirley which are restricted to one hour, but this could be extended to two hours at a cost of 40p or 50p per hour with the first hour free.

Also under review are the car parks at Brueton and Malvern Parks and Solihull Council House.

The council said it wants to prevent all day parking at the parks by people who are avoiding paying in the town centre.

As a result the proposal is to provide up to two hours of free parking with charges brought in after that equal to or higher than town centre prices to free up space for park users.

And a recommendation for the car park at Solihull Council House is to extend the costs currently in place at weekends to include weekday evenings.

The council report said: "The service has limited resources and it is therefore not considered practical to develop management plans for all of the individual areas of Solihull at the same time.

"The review has identified that Shirley, Knowle, Brueton and Malvern Park and the facility around the Council House offer the greatest potential to deliver the required improvements for both the local economy and the council."

The next stage of the process will see the proposals discussed with ward councillors and traders.

Regional news »