Parking charges could rise by 20p to cover the costs of operating the car parks including public toilets with some rising to £5.

Cabinet members at South Oxfordshire District Council have agreed to go ahead with a public consultation later this year on potential changes to parking in the district.

Residents will be asked to comment on: standardising the charging hours across the district so that all areas are treated equally; introducing Sunday parking fees to help ensure spaces are available for people wishing to visit local shops and cafes; a full review of how permits work to ensure they are allocated appropriately, depending on the size and location of the car park; offering discounted permits for users of electric vehicles and introducing limited waiting to address parking issues in the Chinnor.

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The council will look at all comments before finalising and introducing the new arrangements in 2021.

Prices in all charging car parks are to rise by 20p, and the council claims this is the first price increases to be introduced in 13 years. These measures can be introduced without consultation and will therefore be implemented in the coming months once a public notice period has concluded and new signage is ready. The council expects to have these revised charges in operation before December 2020.

The all-day fee in Edinburgh Drive car park, Didcot and Wheel Orchard car park, Goring will increase from £3.40 to £5 in hope that it will free up more spaces in the town centre for shoppers.

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Councillor David Rouane said: “At the Cabinet meeting we agreed to take forward these potential changes to our parking policy and we would urge people to have their say when the public consultation launches later this year.

“Prices have not gone up in 13 years whilst our costs, which in some cases include the maintenance of free public toilets, have been rising steadily.”

“We think that it is not unreasonable to introduce a small increase in order to pay for this service. It’s important that people are able to have their say on issues such as charging hours, the free hour in all car parks and Sunday charging, and measures that we are looking to introduce to reduce vehicle emissions through promoting the use of electric vehicles.”