Aberdeen City Council parking permit prices could soar to £200 a year for residents of the city centre.
Councillors have been recommended to approve major parking charge rises across the Granite City from spring next year.
On-street and off-street parking fees could go up by 10% from April 1, 2023, and then 5% each following year for four years.
And from the same date, the cost of an annual residential parking permit for some city centre areas could go from the current £60 per permit, all the way to £200 — a more than threefold increase.
And that £200 cost would also go up by 5% each of the subsequent years for four years.
In a report from officers urging councillors to approve the changes, it has been noted that the proposals could be “contentious and attract negative feedback”.
The report also highlights the plans are “expected to generate additional income” for Aberdeen City Council.
How will Aberdeen city council parking permit charges change in YOUR area?
Aberdeen City Council breaks down the controlled parking zones where you can buy residential parking permits into an alphabetical list.
- City centre zones are A, B, C, D, E, F and G, and include areas like Golden Square, Summer Street and Bon Accord Square.
- “Outer city centre” zones are H, J, K, L, M, N, P, T, V, W and X, and include Willowbank Road, Holburn Street and Hanover Street.
- The “peripheral zones” are RR and Z, which incorporate roads like Bedford Place, Spital Walk, and Cornhill Terrace.
- Garthdee is Y and YY.
You can see where your zone is here.
Currently, for all zones except the Garthdee ones, a first annual permit will cost you £60 annually.
The city centre zones are only entitled to a single permit, but the cost at the moment for a second permit where they are allowed is £140 for a year.
But if the proposals are approved by Aberdeen City Councillors at a meeting next week, this would all change.
City centre residents would have to deal with the largest increase, from £60 a year to £200 for a permit. They would continue to not be allowed a second permit.
And for those who are allowed a second permit that live in the outer city centre zones, this price would go from £140 to £200.
Garthdee residents with permits would be exempt from any alterations to their current situation until 2026.
Why are increases being recommended for Aberdeen City Council parking permits?
In their report for councillors, officers for the local authority say that the current pricing structures, of £60 for a first residential permit and £140 for a second one, “have been in place for a number of years”.
“These annual charges are now considerably lower than other city local authorities,” according to the officers behind the report.
The document says that in the city centre zones, where residents could soon be paying £200 a year for their single permit, there is “the highest demand for turnover for kerbside space, and the greatest opportunity for mass transport alternatives”.
The report said the proposal “may have an impact on the uptake of residential permits and parking in council facilities, however, the increase in rate is expected to generate additional income”.
It also touched on the potential implications for the environment and the council’s ambitions to reduce Aberdeen’s carbon footprint.
If the changes are approved by elected councillors, the report says it could result in an “increase in uptake of active or mass transport travel alternatives, thereby supporting the reduction of traffic on the network in line with the Mobility Strategy, Net Zero Aberdeen” — an initiative designed to look at “rapid change” in Aberdeen’s transport network and development of more sustainable travel.
The report also says: “The proposed tariff increases present a level of deterrent to use of private cars on the city centre network”.
Conversation