Parking charges to rise two years running

Car park charges are being hiked by a council for the second time in two years.

Last April Medway Council's prices went up by 60p, and now the authority is proposing another rise in on and off-street parking of 50p for up to an hour and 60p for more than an hour, meaning an hour's parking will be £2.90. Two hours will rise from £2.90 to £3.50.

But parking for up to 30 minutes will drop from £1.90 to £1.

Labour council leader, Vince Maple, said: "Residents and businesses talk about the need for someone just to be in town for a short period of time. This hopefully will encourage that and support our small businesses."

Parking at Medway's country parks is going up from £2.50 to £3.50. An annual season ticket will be increased from £60 to £75.

The rises could bring in an extra £2m, along with other highways income, for the authority, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

Tory opposition leader, George Perfect, has criticised the proposed higher charges.

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