SOUTH Gloucestershire Council is making parking free for the first half hour in all of its car parks where charges were introduced last year.
The authority has announced the change of policy to “make the scheme easier to use and promote the use of local High Streets”.
The new rule will apply to any space in a car park and will come into effect from mid-June. Previously only a small number of marked spaces in short-stay car parks were free for 30 minutes.
But charges for drivers making stays of between 30 minutes and four hours at car parks – including St Mary Street, Castle Court and Rock Street in Thornbury – are going up.
An hour’s parking will rise from 70p to 80p, two hours will rise from £1.30 to £1.40, and three hours will go up from £3 to £3.20.
Blue badge holders will continue to be able to park free for up to four hours.
After the shake-up, all drivers, including those parking for a 30-minute free stay, will be required to register their vehicle either at a machine or via the council’s parking app.
Drivers will be able to extend their stay at the machine, or by using the app, if they need extra time.
A council spokesperson said: “Expanding the number of free spaces and giving drivers the chance to easily extend their stay is a change that local traders and businesses were particularly keen to see.”
The authority says all car parks where both long and short stay rates and spaces have been in place will move to a “simpler” single tariff.
Car parks which were previously designated as long stay-only will allow shorter stays and short-stay car parks will allow drivers to park for longer than before, except for two – including St Mary Street in Thornbury – where short stay spaces are in “high demand”.
Long-stay changes
Long stay, weekly and season ticket charges will mostly be reduced.
The old tariff saw drivers charged £3 for up to four hours and £4 for up to six hours, then £5 for over six hours, with season tickets costing £20 for a week, £75 for a month, £435 for six months and £840 for a year.
Now long stays will cost £3.20 for up to four hours and £4.20 for more than four hours, with the higher tariff for stays over six hours dropped.
A week’s season ticket will cost £16.80, a month £60, six months £343 and a year £645.
In short stay-only car parks including St Mary Street, the cost of parking for up to four hours will rise from £5 to £5.30.
The council brought in charges in 22 of its car parks in a bid to raise £800,000 in the first a year.
That figure was later revised down to £630,000, but the authority now says it has brought in more than £750,000.
The council says the changes follow “a series of face-to-face meetings, which has provided helpful feedback from local stakeholders, including Chambers of Commerce, Town and Parish Councils as well as individual traders and residents”.
Figures supplied by the council to the Voice last month showed it anticipated raising £313,831 from charges in the town during the 2025/26 financial year – about £53,100 more than originally forecast.
Council cabinet member for communities Sean Rhodes (above) said: “We introduced the scheme because as a council we need to be able to balance the books and to fund the vital services that so many people rely on.
“Implementation has been broadly successful. Residents and visitors have adapted to using the app well and our car parks where charging is in place are being used well.
“We deliberately kept the price as low as possible, much cheaper than many other councils in the region, but we have been listening to local people and businesses, which is why we are going to make these improvements.
“We have also been listening to our local traders and high streets and know that they are facing many challenges, common across the country, as people’s shopping habits continue to change.
“We continue to support our high streets and traders though a range of schemes and initiatives and this work goes on.
“We have to balance measures we can take to help keep our high streets thriving with the steps we need to take to maintain all council services in very difficult times financially.
“Crucially, we are generating much-needed revenue for the council, which as we go through our budget setting process for the coming year, takes some of the pressure off of needing to make cutbacks and to protect vital services, including social care support for older residents.”