Proposal for free parking before 11am in Ceredigion council car parks unlikely to be supported by councillors, could lead to tax increase

A proposal for Ceredigion council car parks to be free before 11am – which could lead to council tax increases – is not expected to be backed by councillors.
At the February meeting of the council’s Thriving Communities Overview and Scrutiny Committee, a proposal was put forward to give consideration to the option of allowing two hours free parking before 11am in all council car parks.
That proposal will now be heard at the July 31 meeting of the same committee.
The council operates 21 pay and display car parks, charging from 8am, across Ceredigion at its main centres of Aberaeron, Aberystwyth, Cardigan, Lampeter, Llandysul, and Tregaron.
The majority of all tickets sold are for periods of stay up to two hours, £538,545 of the total income of £1,290,423, based on November 2021- October ’22 figures, excluding Llandysul and Tregaron where no charges were levied during this period.
The budget expectation from pay and display car parks for 2023/24 is £1,581,000, but a deficit of almost £300,000 is expected, a report for members says.
In 2022/23 the shortfall was £148,909 based on a target income of £1,221,000.
A report for members outlined the financial implications of any changes, saying it would lead to an estimated income loss of up to £130,000 before any additional factors are accounted for.
If the current arrangements at Llandysul and Tregaron were to continue, then a total of up to £170,000 would potentially need to be identified.
It says the shortfall could be met through reductions in council services budgets, or through a council tax increase of 0.325 per cent for up to £130,000 or 0.425 per cent to achieve up to £170,000.
The report also outlines other costs in the potential changes, including £5,000 for pay and display machine software updates, and some £15,000 for signage changes.
Depending on the detail of any proposal made at the meeting,  a formal consultation may also be needed, at a cost.
Another option suggested in the report is car park charges starting at 9am or 10am, which would require between £11,000 (9am) and £53,500 (10am) to fund.
The report concludes: “A populist view is that free parking is a positive and has benefits in generating footfall and economic prosperity.  However, it would appear that there is little tangible evidence to support this view in reality and reports have shown that there will be a number of factors which influence where, why and how often people will visit a location.
“While providing more free parking may be well received it is less clear what tangible benefits would be derived from doing so.”
Committee members are asked to note the report contents. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​