Wolverhampton Tories call for free parking during evenings and weekends in their alternative budget

The group says the measure is necessary to bring shoppers and visitors back into the city following the closure of a number of high-profile retailers.

Tomorrow night (Wednesday) the ruling Labour group will ask councillors to back a 4.99 per cent increase in the council tax, taking the charge on the average band 'D' property to £2,539 a year.

It will also see parking charges cut by up to 78 per cent, to £3.50 a day on two city-centre car parks, and £2.50 overnight. 

However, an alternative budget tabled by the opposition Conservative group will call for the council tax rise to be restricted to 3.99 per cent, and free parking at weekends and evenings.

It comes a week after Henry Carver of Wolverhampton Business Forum said he thought it was inevitable that parking charges would have to be lifted if the city was to prosper. 

Councillor Simon Bennett, leader of the opposition Conservative group, called for an end to the council's reliance on parking income, saying people were being charged during the very hours when visitor numbers were most sensitive to price, and when the city’s hospitality and leisure economy depended most heavily on trade.

Councillor Bennett estimated that lifting the charges would see the council lose income of £400,000 during 2026-27. He said this, along with proposals to reduce the council tax increase and scrap the increase in garden-waste charges could be financed with a £1.5 million package of cuts.

These included the scrapping of three senior council officers' posts, saving £400,000, further staff cuts totalling £500,000, and a reduction in the council's hospitality budget.

Councillor Bennett said removing parking charges at crucial times would stimulate city-centre activity, increase the amount of time people spent in the city, and support local businesses facing intense competition from online retailers and out-of-town shopping centres where free parking was the norm.

 “Labour talks endlessly about regenerating Wolverhampton, but then charges people to come into the city centre in the evenings and at weekend, which are the very times our restaurants, theatres and independent businesses rely on most," he said. 

“You cannot claim to back the high street while putting up barriers to visiting it. Out-of-town retail parks offer free parking as standard. Online shopping is only a click away. Yet Labour still sees motorists as a revenue stream.

“We want to send a clear message: Wolverhampton is open for business. Free parking after 6pm and at weekends will make it easier for families to come in for a meal, see a show, attend an event or support local traders without worrying about the clock ticking on a parking meter. 

“This is a pro-growth, pro-business measure. If we are serious about revitalising the city centre, we must stop penalising the very people we are trying to attract.”

He said the modest revenue reduction was a strategic investment in the local economy. 

"By removing evening and weekend parking charges, the council would demonstrate that regeneration is about creating the right conditions for private sector growth, not maximising short-term parking income."

Both the Labour group's budget and the Conservative alternative will be discussed at tomorrow's meeting, starting a 5.15pm.