Drivers were left furious after parking charges in Kent jumped a staggering 580 per cent, following a change in payment option.
The car parking fee in School Lane, Herne, in Kent has become six times more expensive, with the fee jumping from just £2.20 to £15 as new tariffs introduced at the start of the month inflated costs.
Previously, drivers were able to park a whole day for just £2.20, but now the daily charge has skyrocketed to £15, making it one of the largest increases across the country.
The change saw a new £1.90 hourly rate introduced instead of a flat fee, making it more expensive for drivers to park in the busy area, the previous prices were 60p for 30 mins or £1.10 for two hours.
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Parking charges six times more expensive
PAParking fees have been steadily rising across the country with councils upping prices to help raise funds as a result of inflation.
According to The Times, drivers paid £1.93billion in parking charges and fines between 2022 and April 2023, an increase from £1.76billion the previous year.
This year, councils revealed they will be increasing their parking charges further, with some going as high as 60 per cent to help raise revenues and tackle inflation.
In Kirklees, the West Yorkshire council for Huddersfield, Holmfirth and Dewsbury, it was revealed that short-stay parking fees would increase from 70p an hour to £1.10 per hour.
Fees in Dewsbury and other areas of Kirklees would also go up from 5p to 50p per hour. Long-stay parking across the borough as a whole would increase from £4 all day to £6.50 all day.
In East Grinstead in South England, parking charges are going up by almost 30 per cent as the council looks to raise more funds.
Elsewhere, North Yorkshire Council will be increasing its parking charges by 20 per cent from April 19 citing infrastructure costs as the primary reason.
The increase in prices by councils has meant that drivers are now paying as much as £5.5million daily in parking fines across public roads and spaces.
Car park in School Lane, Herne which saw prices rapidly increase
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Rob Davies, Canterbury City Council spokesperson, said: “We accept that the change in approach to car park banding has resulted in an increase in prices at School Lane.
“But we have continued to allow free parking for the morning school run and in the evening for events at the Herne Centre.
“And residents are able to apply for an off-street residents’ permit which offers good value for all year-round parking.
“As with all parking charges, the situation at School Lane will be reviewed next year, when we will consider what the impact of the change has been.”
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According to reports, there are currently 24,875 residents in the Herne Bay area, all of whom would have used the car park at some point.