Parking charges: Prices to rise in Belfast, Newry and Lisburn

On-street parking charges in Belfast, Newry and Lisburn are going up from 1 April, the Department for Infrastructure (DfI) has said.

Charges in Belfast will rise by 40p an hour while charges in Newry and Lisburn will both increase by 20p an hour.

That means Belfast prices rise to £1.60 and £1.80, Newry charges rise to £0.80 per hour and in Lisburn prices increase to £1.00 per hour.

The DfI said the decision had been made to address public funding pressures.

It also cited the need to support the carbon reductions in the Climate Change Act.

The on-street parking tariffs in the Controlled Parking Zones (CPZs) in Belfast, Lisburn and Newry were last increased in February 2017.

Newry, Lisburn and Belfast are the only three controlled parking zones in Northern Ireland.

Retail NI, which represents Independent retail in Northern Ireland, said it was "extremely disappointed" by the news.

"This decision was made without consultation with local traders and is the wrong move given the pressures on high street traders and consumers," they tweeted.

Its chief executive Glyn Roberts said he was "flabbergasted" by the news.

He said his organisation had been pushing the department to remove charges for the first hour in the three cities.

"They [the DfI] has said it was below inflation but that they need to invest in new calculators because that is not the case," he told BBC Radio Ulster's Evening Extra programme.

He said it is disappointing for traders and also for "consumers who are going through a difficult cost of living crisis".

He said a meeting would be sought with the permanent secretary about the lack of consultation.

The department said it was measuring inflation from the last parking charges increase which was in 2017.