New car parking fees will be introduced from Friday, April 19, as part of our commitment to maintain and improve our facilities.
Our decision to implement new charges was made after careful consideration of several factors impacting the service.
The cost of parking facilities, including infrastructure, repairs, lighting, and security has risen, and ensuring a safe and well-maintained environment is essential for people using them.
Car parking fees have not increased in some areas for more than a decade, with the majority unchanged for at least three years. Therefore, we will introduce an increase broadly aligned with inflation.
From April 19, there will be a 20% increase across our car parking charges, which reflects an annual increment of approximately 6.7% since the last increase.
Our corporate director of environment, Karl Battersby, said: "We continuously strive to improve our parking services to provide a better customer experience. This includes investments in technology upgrades, such as automated payment systems and the installation of electric vehicle chargers to accommodate the growing market.
"We have refrained from increasing our car parking tariff for several years. However, to ensure we can continue to maintain the current provision and not divert funds away from vital frontline council services, we plan on introducing an increase across the car parking tariff that is in line with inflation.
"We also remain committed to improving public transport provision across North Yorkshire to ensure there are alternatives to car usage, as well as supporting efforts to become carbon neutral by 2030."
Later this year, we will be drafting a strategy that will look at the parking provision across North Yorkshire to see where future changes and improvements can be made.
We are also continuing to make investments in active travel so that people can opt not to use their car and instead walk, cycle or use public transport, and help to contribute to reducing their carbon footprint.
Last week, we announced a £3.5 million boost for North Yorkshire buses with timetables expanded and £1 fares introduced for under-19s, under a new one-year pilot.