Horsham town centre parking charge increases approved

Parking charges in Horsham town centre car parks will rise by up to 20 per cent after proposals were agreed by cabinet members on Thursday.
Season ticket parking charges at Swan Walk are set to riseSeason ticket parking charges at Swan Walk are set to rise
Season ticket parking charges at Swan Walk are set to rise

Hourly rates at The Forum, London Road and Denne Road are all due to be increased by Horsham District Council.

Season tickets for The Forum and Swan walks are also set to go up.

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Speaking at HDC’s cabinet meeting, Gordon Lindsay, cabinet member for the local economy, said: “The effect of the town centre parking proposals is that 63 per cent of shoppers’ hourly parking prices are unchanged.

“Season ticket prices will increase by up to 12.9 per cent for the first time in five years.”

Councillor Bryan Donnelly noted it was five years since the council last reviewed charges. He said delaying a review could leave the council with little option but to consider much higher uplifts.

He said benchmarking the prices against other towns showed they were ‘just below them’.

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A report to councillors outlined the rationale behind the proposals.

It said: “Rather than increasing the parking charges across the board it was decided that the best approach would be to increase charges in targeted areas where there is an inconsistency in pricing compared to other similar car parks, or where demand is such that spaces are at a premium.”

Readers Readers took to the County Times’ Facebook page to label the increases ‘absolutely disgusting’ but also ‘depressingly predictable’ last week.

Users suggested higher charges would lead to shoppers using the Sainsbury’s and Waitrose

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car parks instead, and raised concerns about the impact on the high street.

The proposals will generate an additional £150,000 for the council amid a significant reduction in government grant.