All the things getting more expensive in Liverpool as city council hikes charges in budget plans

Members of the city council’s cabinet are to discuss a wide-ranging plan next week that could lead to more local authority services becoming more expensive than in previous years. In the case of how much it will be to park your car, on-street locations are proposed to go up by an average of around 11%.

The current monthly receipts for pay and display parking are thought to be just under £1m, prompting a review of the charges as the council seeks to plug its financial gaps. Among the changes to come are rises in the city’s leisure services.

If you want to go for a dip in a Liverpool Council Lifestyles pool, an adult session will now cost £4.60 – up from £4.40 – while children’s swims will go from £2.20 to £2.30. This represents an increase of 4.5%.

A similar rate rise will be imposed upon gym inductions, while a single session for adults will go up from £7.25 to £7.60, a 4.83% increase. Hiring tennis and squash courts, five-a-side football pitches and athletic tracks will also cost more from April.

The local authority will also ask more for use of the city’s library services, from hiring rooms out to filming permits and the cost of overdue material. Those thinking of taking an extra day to hand back a book may want to think again, with the maximum fine per borrowed item going up by 4.5% to £2.30.

Hiring out some of the city’s most revered locations is going to cost more too. Charges such as piano tuning at some venues, and use of sites for ceremonies including the Town Hall will go up from February.

Some of the increases however are a little more obscure. It will cost £1,000 to receive a licence to run a sex shop from February, a raise of 50%.

A four-year zoo licence grant is also expected to go up by 5% to £2,217. Commercial treatments for wasps and ants nests will go up in February from £108 to £112 – an increase of 3.7%.

It was confirmed last year that after a lengthy delay, free parking after 6pm would come to an end, meaning all on-street spaces within the city centre controlled parking zone (CPZ) would have charges applied until 11pm. After consultation with businesses, if agreed by the local authority’s cabinet when it meets next week, the length of stay for any space will increase to five hours after 6pm.

In a report to be considered by city leaders, the wider increase of fees and charges will “support financial recovery and sustainability” for the local authority. Studies by Liverpool Council said the prices being sought indicate the charges “remain competitive compared to other core cities and private sector operators.”

A 30 minute stay in the city centre will increase from £2 to £2.30, with an hour going up to £4.40 from £4. A two-hour bay will increase from £6 to £6.50. Parking before 6pm will be limited to four hours maximum stay, increasing to five hours, as revealed by the LDRS in December, following consultation with businesses particularly around Hope Street.

This charge will rise from £10 to £10.60 from April 1. Council owned car parks, including at Mount Pleasant, Victoria Street, the M&S Bank Arena and Paddington Village are also expected to go up by an average of more than 8%.