MOTORISTS could be discouraged from driving into Colchester city centre, a council boss has said.
Recommendations to increase car parking charges were discussed by Colchester Council’s cabinet at a meeting on Tuesday.
At the meeting, the council’s resources boss, Mark Cory, said the council had been strategic in its decision-making to “discourage people” from parking in the city centre.
Asked by Wivenhoe councillor Andrea Luxford Vaughan why charges at all council-run car parks aren’t set to go up directly in line with inflation, Mr Cory explained exceptions had to be made to fulfil the authority’s parking strategy.
“Because we have a parking strategy and we understand the data of all the different car parks and what drives footfall, there will be some car parks that have either less than inflation or higher than inflation [price increases] depending on where we want to send people to use different car parks,” the deputy council leader said.
“For example, we have more deals on some of the out-of-town car parks in order to try and keep traffic out of the inner circle of the town.
"It may be a slightly higher increase on a town centre one which we want to discourage people coming all the way into.”
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The recommended price rises, which include increases of 30p for four hours of parking at the St John’s, St Mary’s, Britannia, and Priory Street car parks, will now be debated at a full council meeting.
The proposals also include a move to simplify charges at car parks further away from the city centre in Butt Road and Napier Road car parks, removing a short stay rate in favour of an all-day charge of £3.80.
The move would see drivers able to park all day for 50p less than parking in the city centre for just four hours.
Earlier this year, the Gazette revealed the St John’s and St Mary’s multi-storey car parks are at risk of demolition as part of Colchester Council’s masterplan for the city centre.
Speaking at the time, David King, leader of the council, emphasised the masterplan “isn’t an attack on the car”.
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