Bromley Council is currently reviewing the cost of parking in carparks across the borough. They do this every two years, and it’s the responsibility of the Environment and Community Services Policy Development and Scrutiny Committee to review and discuss proposals. The committee last met on 20 November.
Here’s what’s being proposed and a bit of the background behind each proposal. To find out more, read the full report online.
Increase parking fees by 10%
To include: off-street parking, multi-storey car parks and on-street parking.
On and off-street parking fees haven’t increased since April 2023. But due to inflation, the contract costs have increased annually. It’s believed that increasing the parking fees will raise an additional £275k of income in 2025/6 to counter the increasing contract costs which the council needs to pay. There is no proposal to increase charges for Resident, Business and Visitor Vouchers.
Extend car park daytime charges to 9pm, add fixed-fee standard nighttime charges
The majority of car parks stop charging at 7pm. As shopping patterns have changed and more people shop into the evening, there is a value in extending the ‘day’ to 9pm.
Additionally, there is a proposal to add a one-off charge of £1.50 for any period from the end of the ‘daytime’ tariff rate to 12 midnight, Monday to Sunday. This will largely bring all Bromley-operated car parks in line with one another.
Introduce a charge for Sunday parking in Bromley car parks
More people are using the car parks on Sundays. Estimates show that based on parking income projected for 2024/25 (with a degree of guesswork for usage for times where there is currently no data held) the introduction of evening and Sunday charging would lead to an additional income in 2025/26 of around £70k.
Blue Badge holders to pay in Bromley public car parks
The Disabled Person’s Blue Badge scheme doesn’t automatically exempt Blue Badge holders from parking fees. The decision about whether to impose charges is up to the discretion of the individual highway authority. According to the meeting notes, “it is common for private car park operators to require Blue Badge holders to pay to park.”
There is currently no data on the number of Blue Badge holders who are parking for free in the Council’s car parks. This means it’s hard to know exactly how much income would be gained by adding a charge. However, the council estimates that it could generate an additional annual income of around £50k.
Introduce paid parking in Norman Park
UPDATE: This proposal has now been reversed.
Bromley currently pays to maintain and operate both sections of the carpark (accessed from Bromley Common and from Hayes Lane). This cost is not recovered. Although the projected annual income from the new fees was around £35k and the local ward councillors backed this proposal, it was strongly contested by local people and the athletics club. The proposal will no longer go ahead. Read more on the Newsshopper website.
Reduce the maximum stay at Mitre Close car park to 2 hours
This is a small and popular car park. Adding a maximum stay should stop the build up of traffic that occurs when motorists wait for a space to become available.
What next?
If you have any concerns, our local ward councillors hold surgeries (just a way of chatting to them face to face) every month. Find a full list of dates on their website. Alternatively you can always contact them by email through their website.
Coney Hall Village Residents' Association (CHVRA) 