Higher Parking Charges, Lower Returns. BCP’s £3.2 Million Parking Shortfall

BCP Council’s parking income is £3.2 million below budget, despite a hot summer, busy beaches and reportedly strong visitor numbers. Seafront operations are also £1.1 million behind target.

Liberal Democrat Cabinet Member for Finance Councillor Mike Cox suggests cost of living pressures mean people may be spending less, staying for shorter periods or making “different travel choices”. “Different travel choices” is a wonderfully convenient phrase. It encourages us to imagine motorists enthusiastically abandoning their cars for bicycles and buses but where is the evidence? Perhaps the more obvious explanation is that BCP has made parking too expensive.

The council increased parking charges again in March, including a 6% rise at high demand seafront locations. Residents and businesses warned that excessive charges would deter visitors, shorten stays and reduce spending in our shops, cafés and restaurants. Now BCP itself says people may be staying for less time and spending less money, yet appears reluctant to consider whether its own parking policy might be contributing.

BCP cannot have it both ways

The Lib Dem led administration is pursuing transport policies intended to reduce private car use. At the same time, its financial plans rely upon motorists generating substantial and apparently increasing parking income. Those objectives pull in opposite directions. If BCP succeeds in discouraging car journeys, parking revenue will fall. It cannot make driving and parking less attractive, budget for more parking income and then express surprise when the money fails to arrive.

If people really are making different travel choices, why was that not anticipated when the budget was prepared? To be precise, parking revenue is 7% below BCP’s budgeted expectation, rather than proven to be 7% lower than last year but BCP set that target, made the assumptions and increased the charges.

The council should now publish the evidence showing whether motorists genuinely switched to alternative transport or simply parked elsewhere, visited less frequently or went home sooner. BCP’s position currently appears to be:

Increase parking charges. Discourage car use. 

Budget for more parking income. 

Then blame “changing behaviour” when the money does not arrive.

People may indeed be changing their behaviour but perhaps not in the way BCP would like us to believe. They may simply have decided that parking here is no longer worth the price.