Cost of a parking permit in Fareham to rise as Hampshire County Council takes on service

Hampshire County Council has ended its agreement with Fareham Borough Council, meaning the county will take over on-street parking enforcement from Wednesday, April 1.

A resident’s annual parking permit in Fareham costs £40 at present – but this will rise to £50 under the changes.

The move will create ‘an efficient and equitable’ service across the county, according to Hampshire County Councillor Rob Humby,

Cllr Humby, deputy leader and executive member for economy, transport and environment, said: ‘We have put in place plans to modernise on-street parking to ensure an efficient and equitable operation throughout the county and protect highways maintenance budgets for essential repairs.’

In 2018, a report to Hampshire County Council found that residents’ annual permits across the area were between £49 and £14 cheaper than the national average.

The announcement has sparked concerns it is being used as a money-making exercise, according to Councillor Trevor Cartwright.

Cllr Cartwright said: ‘We are not happy about this.

‘The worry is - what are there proposals for the future? They could start charging more.

‘My biggest concern is that it will cause confusion for people differentiating between officers enforcing parking at our car parks and county council staff working on on-street parking. I know who will get the blame.

‘We have been saying all along that we would carry on with the previous arrangement.’

Running the on-street parking enforcement service made Fareham Borough Council a profit of more than £16,000 in 2017/18.

This is a service the borough ‘could have been kept’, according to Councillor Roger Price, Fareham Lib Dem leader.

Cllr Price said: ‘The council has given up something it could have kept.

‘We gave in to the county – we conceded the argument when we gave up traffic management responsibilities.

In 2016, the executive of the council voted to stop being responsible for traffic management, after the county council cut funding by 40 per cent.

The borough council will continue to be responsible for parking enforcement within its own car parks.

The county council will introduce a digital permit system to replace paper permits in Fareham, as well as Andover, Romsey, and the New Forest.

A link to the new digital system will appear on Fareham Borough Council’s website.

Permits that expire between March and June can be renewed by Fareham Borough Council during March, with all renewed paper permits remaining valid after the digital system is introduced.