Parking charges set to rise 90pc
Price rises of up to almost 90 per cent look set to hit thousands of motorists who use council-run car parks in Dudley.
A series of increases in parking charges is planned to come into effect next month as finance bosses aim to raise an extra £500,000 in revenue from motorists.
Drivers staying all day at car parks in Dudley, Halesowen and Stourbridge town centres will see their daily fee increase from £1.70 to £2.30.
And those leaving their cars for up to three hours at short-stay facilities in the centres will have to pay £1.50, up from the existing price of £1.10.
Season tickets for 12 months, previously £250 and £130, will go up to £335 and £260. And people parking in council spaces in Birmingham Street, Stourbridge, will see the flat rate shoot up from 80p to £1.50 – an increase of 87.5 per cent.
Kerry Jeffries, aged 31, who works in a Dudley town centre store, said: "It might be only 60p extra for each day, but that will cost me well over £100 by the end of the year."
A base rate of 40p or 50p for the first hour will be unchanged, but fees of 60p to 80p for up to two hours will almost all go up by 20p.
Councillor Angus Adams, cabinet member for transportation, said: "This will just bring us into line with neighbouring local authorities."
