WIRRAL Council is looking to bring in parking charges at 22 free car parks and three roads as well as a £1 charge brought in for those parking between 6:30pm and 8pm.

Proposals for new parking charges were dropped by the local authority in 2022 due to intense opposition and legal challenges.

The local authority previously proposed bringing in controversial parking charges across areas like New Brighton, West Kirby and Bromborough but these were dropped in 2022 after Labour pulled support. Those plans would have brought £1m into the local authority but didn’t go ahead after the threat of a legal challenge.

At an environment and transport committee meeting on July 15, a budget report said a parking charging policy was needed later this year to help balance the local authority’s budget and close a £300,000 shortfall. At the meeting, director of neighbourhoods services Jason Gooding, said there was a difference in what on street and off street parking income could be used for and officers would present “a sensible, sustainable way forward.”

He added the local authority’s subsidised parking budget was becoming more important due to pressures from “uncontrollable” rises in demand, particularly in adults and children’s services that are “pushing up costs.” The local authority recently put a spending freeze on all non-essential spending due to its financial position.

In December 2023, councillors from all parties unanimously approved a new parking strategy for the borough that could generate £15m for the local authority in the long run. Wirral Council said the new proposed charges was to help deliver this policy and “help meet the costs of continuing to provide dedicated public car parking in a fair way as well as to address future parking impacts by ensuring that any new parking plans are self-financing.”

Wirral Council is now looking to bring in a Traffic Regulation Order and has asked the public for their thoughts on the plans. Blue badge holders (disabled) will be exempt from paying for parking, provided they display a valid badge.

22 off-street car parks are expected to have charges brought in. These are:

Fort Perch Rock Car Park, New Brighton.

Derby Pool Car Park, New Brighton.

Chamberlain Street Car Park, Birkenhead.

Old Chester Road-Chamberlain Street Car Park, Birkenhead.

Turner Street Car Park, Birkenhead.

Banks Road Car Park, Heswall.

Roslin Road Car Park, Irby.

Fishers Lane Car Park, Pensby.

Carr Lane Car Park, Hoylake.

Charles Road Car Park, Hoylake.

Market Street Car Park, Hoylake.

Barlow Avenue Car Park, Bebington.

Church Road Car Park, Bebington.

Roland Avenue Car Park, Bebington.

Allport Lane Car Park, Bromborough.

Mill Park Drive Car Park, Eastham.

Manor Road Car Park, Liscard.

Garden Lane Car Park, Moreton.

Holt Avenue Car Park, Moreton.

Pasture Road Car Park, Moreton.

The Gunsite Car Park, Leasowe.

Thurstaston Common Car Park, Thurstaston.

Inflationary increases will also be brought in for on-street parking bays for the current controlled parking zone in Birkenhead around Hamilton Square and a £1 charge to park overnight. Charges are also expected to be brought in for on-street parking bays in the following places:

Kings Parade / Coastal Drive, New Brighton.

North Parade / Meols Parade, Hoylake and Meols.

South Parade, West Kirby.

As for how much people will be charged, Wirral Council is planning to bring in the following charges from October 28:

Up to 1 hour – £1.20

Up to 2 hours – £2.40

Up to 3 hours – £3.60

Up to 4 hours – £4.80

Over 4 hours – £6

Car park permit for traders – £720 per year

Wirral Country Park Permit – £120 per year

Wirral Council said the findings of any public feedback will be reported back to the Environment, Climate Emergency and Transport Committee later this year for a decision. Councillors will also be asked to decide on the proposal to increase fees in areas where charges were already present.

The policy to bring in parking charges has previously faced opposition from Conservative and Liberal Democrat councillors but no specific concerns were raised by either party about the proposed policy at the meeting in July. However, Labour chair of the committee Cllr Liz Grey said the council had “to balance the books one way or another” and called for councillors to avoid “emotive rhetoric and clichés like cash cow and war on cars.”

To officers, she said: “You’ve highlighted a particularly challenging situation that we are heading into and it’s not sustainable that we can just keep dipping into reserves and things in sorting stuff out.

“We have to have a more sustainable long term way of addressing these problems and it would be good if we could all be a bit more grown up and work together when it comes to dealing with that and not politicise it.”

Cllr Grey added: “We are going to have to make very difficult choices about what we want to do with other libraries and leisure services and various other things if we don’t stop subsidising car parking to the tune of £300,000 a year.”