DRIVERS will have to shell out a little bit more for spaces in the town centre’s car parks, after new charges were approved on Monday (September 7).

Hourly rates at The Avenue, High Street, Braccan Walk and Weather Way car parks will go up from October 1.

READ MORE: Here’s how much the council is set to lose in car parking income

Councillor Marc Brunel-Walker, chairman of Bracknell Forest Council’s (BFC) Town Centre Regeneration committee, said the increase is a balancing act which aims to:

  • Not deter people from visiting the town centre
  • Make the town centre an amazing place to visit
  • Not lose sight of the impact of Covid-19 on the council’s revenue

A one-hour stay at any of the four sites will increase from £1.50 to £1.60, while a two-hour stay will see no change in cost.

Officers said a price hike of 10p for the two-hour stay could have raised an extra £30,000 but is the most popular amount of time with 37 per cent staying for 1-2 hours.

The next most popular time is 0-1 hours (28 per cent) and then 2-3 hours (22 per cent).

Prices will increase incrementally for stays longer than two hours.

Councillor Nigel Atkinson raised concern that this would hit shop workers harder, but officers said there are alternative car parks for shop workers such as Albert Road.

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The new rate for the night charge will be £1.70, up 10p from its current fare.

Chief executive Tim Wheadon said the prices would still be below those in neighbouring local authority areas.

The proposals were approved unanimously by the Town Centre Regeneration committee, which considers increases annually and also approved  increases last year.

Councillor Chris Turrell said: “We are right to be cautious about putting up the car parking charges. We are tailoring it to the actual use.”

While Councillor Peter Heydon added: “We are not really putting it up by that much.”

The new charges will generate an estimated £50,000 for the council, which could rise to around £80,000 if shoppers return to the town centre at the same rate they did before the coronavirus pandemic.

However, there is also a ‘worst-case scenario’ in which the council could lose around £2 million in income by March 2021 due to low car-park usage throughout lockdown.