Free evening parking in Liverpool city centre to end in matter of weeks

Back in November 2022, the city council confirmed in a bid to plug an expanding budget gap, leaders would look to end its free evening parking provision, extending the charging period to 7am to 11pm daily. After years of delay, a senior official has now confirmed when we will pay more to park in the heart of Liverpool.

The move comes almost two months after the council’s cabinet signed off on the first rise in parking charges for years. More than two years ago, then-authority leaders sought public opinion on plans to expand a controlled parking zone (CPZ).

This is a regulated area where on-street parking is restricted by law between the hours of 8am to 6pm. Under the proposals put forward, charges at public pay and display and other parking bays will now be enforced between 7am to 11pm.

Liverpool Council said the proposed extension of the charging period is aimed at creating more spaces for those holding resident and business permits. The plans were met with an initial backlash, with a cabinet report indicating public support was not expected.

Then-Mayor Joanne Anderson said the city would look to press on with the major shake-up despite 89% of all respondents to an initial public consultation indicating they were against the proposal. It has been hit with delays as officers worked through thousands of responses.

Andy Mollon, director of sustainable transport, told a meeting of the council’s sustainable, safe and thriving communities committee on Wednesday a breakthrough had been reached, with a completion date now in sight. He said: “We’ve completed the consultation into the controlled parking zone.

“We brought in additional resources to try and speed that up. We are now looking at the implementation of that at the end of March at the latest.

“It should be in place for the beginning of the new financial year.” Brian Clarke, group finance manager, told committee members how the delayed implementation of the CPZ expansion had led to an overspend in parking services of £1.9m.

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The significant parking shake up was at first linked to an increase in fees to leave cars in city centre bays. In December, the council’s cabinet signed off on a significant hike that will come into force from next year.

With the local authority struggling to make ends meet, fees will rise by as much as 60% in some places. The cash-strapped council is currently working up its budget options for April and beyond as it looks to fill a £29m blackhole.

Pressures around social care and homelessness have added to the need to generate cash to balance the books. As a result, city car parks will now cost more to drivers from March, with hourly rates also on the increase.

Cllr Ruth Bennett, deputy leader of Liverpool Council and cabinet member for finance, said the existing scheme was “out of kilter” with other major cities across the UK. Fees at multi-storey car parks – like those at Mount Pleasant or Victoria Street – will increase by 40%.

This will raise the cost of parking for over three hours at Mount Pleasant Car Park from £5 to just under £7. Off-street car park charges are set to rise by 47.28%, meaning the cost of parking for over five hours at Dale Street surface car park, for example, will go up from £8 to £11.78.

The most significant planned increase is for on-street car parking, where charges will rise by an average of 60%. A four-hour stay in a city centre bay will increase from £6 to £9.60.