At its meeting on Tuesday, 13 January, the council’s Executive approved the changes, following amendments made in response to public consultation held in October last year.
Weekend charges will be introduced in Buntingford and Sawbridgeworth to bring them in line with other areas. However, the planned inflationary tariff increases for these car parks will not be applied, addressing concerns raised during the consultation about the potential economic impact on local residents and businesses. Saturday charging will be introduced at weekday rates, while the Sunday charge will be set at an all-day rate of £1.50, reduced from the originally proposed £2.10.
A three-hour limit on free parking for Blue Badge holders will also be introduced. In response to feedback that this may not provide sufficient time, holders will have the option to stay and pay for additional time beyond the first free three hours.
Separate from these changes, charges in all car parks in Bishop’s Stortford, Hertford and Ware, will rise in line with the Consumer Price Index.
The changes align with the council’s wider parking strategy, approved by the Executive in February last year, which sets out guiding principles for parking across the district, including encouraging more sustainable travel choices.
In addition, these changes will help the council address its current funding gap and manage future financial challenges, ensuring it can continue delivering local services despite increasing budget pressures.
Councillor Tim Hoskin, Executive Member for Environmental Sustainability at East Herts Council, said, “The council is incredibly grateful to everyone who gave feedback on our proposals back in October. We have listened carefully to what people told us and, while we believe reversing the changes would not be the right approach, we have sought to reduce their impact where we can.
“Managing parking in a way that satisfies everyone is always challenging, but I am confident these changes will bring greater consistency to charging across the district and help us better manage demand in our busiest locations.”
The full list of approved changes:
Bishop’s Stortford
Grange Paddocks:
- Introduction of a 2.5-hour parking charge at Grange Paddocks A
- Extension of operational hours to 8:00PM at Grange Paddocks B and C
Northgate End
- Conversion of several under-utilised disabled bays to Parent and Child bays at Northgate End
Link Road and Jackson Square:
- Corrections to administrative and operational arrangements at Link Road and Jackson Square, including car club bays and operational hours
Buntingford
Bowling Green Lane:
- Extension of operational hours to 7:30AM – 6:30PM
- Introduction of a new rural car park tariff structure Monday-Friday, with no inflationary increase
- Introduction of Saturday charging at the same tariff levels as Monday to Friday, to ensure consistency across rural car parks
- Introduction of a flat £1.50 all-day charge on Sundays and Public Holidays
Hertford
Gascoyne Way:
- Introduction of a maximum stay of 3 hours for all customers at Gascoyne Way Level A
Old London Road:
- Amendments approved to provide both short-term and long-stay parking
Sawbridgeworth
Bell Street:
- Retention of existing Monday to Friday tariffs with no inflationary increase
- Introduction of Saturday charging at the same tariff levels as Monday to Friday, to ensure consistency across rural car parks
- Introduction of a flat £1.50 all-day charge on Sundays and Public Holidays
Ware
Amwell End East and Amwell End West
- Merger of Amwell End East and Amwell End West, Ware, into a single Amwell End Car Park
Kibes Lane North and Kibes Lane South:
- Merger of Kibes Lane North and Kibes Lane South into a single car park, operating as short-stay parking Monday to Saturday and long-stay parking on Sundays and public holidays
Library Car Park / Burgage Lane:
- Renaming of the Library Car Park, Ware, to Burgage Lane, and the reduction of the maximum stay to three hours