Consultation opens on plans to increase car parking charges across the Peak District

The planned proposal – which would be implemented via byelaw changes and parking orders – includes increasing the number of pay and display locations within the authority’s network of 45 current car parks, and changes to tariffs at all of their pay & display locations.

Options put forward include simplifying ticket type selection and increasing parking periods for coaches and horseboxes.

Price ranges for cars would change to £1.75 for a single hour only (up 25p) and up to £5.50 for a full day (a 75p increase). Blue Badge holders will continue to park for free.

An annual parking permit, applied across all 45 authority-owned locations, will increase in stages gradually to a final cost of £66 by 2024 – the first increase for almost a decade, when it was originally set at £40 in 2013. The Peak Park said their price analysis and calculations were undertaken before the recent sharp inflation rises.

A Peak District National Park Authority spokesperson said: “The proposed changes, which in some cases such as the annual permit will be introduced incrementally over a three-year period, continue to represent very good value in line with other local parking providers and by comparison to National Parks throughout the country.

“Under the proposals, a regular visitor to any of our pay and display locations would still pay less than £1.30 a week to park under an annual permit at its final cost of £66 in three year’s time. As the fee analysis was undertaken in 2021, it has protected car park users and visitors from potential sharper increases related to current inflation, despite the authority’s own costs continuing to go up in line with these external factors.

“Whilst the number of pay & display sites may increase, this reflects the maintenance and other operating costs associated with the whole of our car park, all-user trails and public toilets network – given that almost all of these additional facilities are available to visitors at no charge.”

Around a third of the authority’s car parks will remain free of charge. The consultation remains open for a month. Comments can be submitted to [email protected].