Charges shock at new Stafford car park

Short-stay prices at the Bridge Street site, which forms part of the multi-million pound Riverside development, will be more expensive than other council-run sites.

However, almost half of the spaces will be taken up by staff from Staffordshire County Council after the authority snapped up around 500 of the 1,025 available spaces.

Prices will be £1 for up to an hour, £2 for two, £3 for three and £3.50 for up to four hours. They then rise to £8 for long stays.

Charges at other council car parks such as Broad Street, Tenterbanks and Doxey Road are £1 for an hour, £1.50 for two, £2.40 for three and £3 for four hours.

The car park will have a mix of long and short-stay bays, and the cost and potential discounts for council workers who take up spaces is still subject to negotiation.

Calls for fees to be lowered and brought in line were rejected during a meeting of Stafford Borough Council, which agreed the prices this week.

They are expected to be the same at the Riverside Undercroft car park, which is due to be completed around April next year.

Work has been pushing ahead on the new multi-storey car park and Marks & Spencer store as part of the £70 million Riverside scheme. The regeneration of the area includes shops, cinema and restaurants.

Council chiefs insist the multi-storey will be well used as part of the transformation of the area and that charges cover the security and maintenance of the site.

At a meeting of the full council this week, Councillor Stephen O'Connor called for a continuity of prices in Stafford.

He said: "I think the charges should be the same as most of the other car parks in Stafford town centre. We need the continuity across our car parks."

But regeneration chief Councillor Frances Beatty said: "This is quibbling about a pound and 50 pence.

"We need this car park, and we need to be able to manage and run it economically. This car park will be very, very well used indeed."

A report to the council said the charges reflect the fact that the car park will be open in the evening and on Sunday and will contribute to the cost of security and maintenance of the car park at such times.

It said the county council has agreed to take up 500 spaces for employee parking to replace those lost to the Morrison's development.

Councillor Mark Winnington, cabinet member for economy at Staffordshire County Council, said: "The new multi-storey car park will provide much needed parking spaces for shoppers, visitors and local businesses and support the new shops and cinema in the Riverside Development opening soon. Staff in the county council's parking scheme will have the opportunity to use some of the car parking spaces in the new car park.

"Having spaces near to their office means that frontline staff such as social workers can get easy access to their car when needed.

"Staff would only be using the spaces during the week, which also means that visitors and shoppers would have access to more spaces in the evening and at the weekend, when most needed."