Somerset Council’s Executive has taken steps to protect free overnight parking for cars in the county’s car parks as part of a proposed review of parking.
Following a discussion on proposed changes during today’s Executive Budget Meeting, members also agreed provide free parking for up to 30 minutes in the new on street limited waiting bays to encourage turnover of available spaces and support local businesses.
Lead Member for Transport and Waste Services Councillor Richard Wilkins proposed the amendments to the parking review for 2025/26 after receiving feedback on the plans and in response to concerns raised at Corporate and Resources Scrutiny last week.
The revised proposals, which will still be subject to full public consultation before any final decisions are made, now include:
- Standardising charges for Sunday parking at all car parks – currently this only applies at some car parks.
- Introducing charges at car parks which are currently free
There are currently different rates and charging principles applied across the county’s 200 council-run car parks, and the system has not been reviewed since Somerset Council came into being in 2023.
The aim of the proposals is to bring consistency and fairness to ensure the service continues to be completely self-funded to cover staffing, serving and administrating penalty notices, and managing and maintaining car parks to a high level.
Somerset Council’s Lead Member for Transport and Waste, Councillor Richard Wilkins said: “We have listened to concerns raised at scrutiny, from the public and businesses.
“We want to give people the flexibility to park for a short time, while at the same time encouraging turnover of spaces for visitors. We also want to support businesses when it comes to the night-time economy and these amendments do that.
“However, we have still inherited a parking estate with big differences across the county. For example, in Williton Sunday parking is charged the same as the rest of the week, whereas in Wellington it is free on Sundays, meanwhile in Wiveliscombe car parking is free all week and Wincanton Town Council pays for its car park to be free. Is it right that those paying to park in some towns are subsidising free parking in other towns?
“We need to bring fairness and uniformity in parking practice across the county and in turn the extra income will help ensure the parking service is fully self-financed and can continue to be run, staffed and maintained properly.”