Aberdeen City Council will be pocketing an extra estimated £620,000 from its upcoming increase in parking charges.
In December, the local authority agreed to put up the cost of its parking permits by up to £140 a year for some areas from April 1.
Councillors also agreed to raise the prices of on-street and off-street council parking by 10% from the same date.
At the time of the decision, no information was made available about how much extra money such increases would generate for the council’s coffers from motorist’s pockets.
But today, we can reveal the full extent of just how much April’s parking increases will cost the drivers, and benefit the council.
How much money is the council making from the Aberdeen parking charge price hikes?
From April this year, depending on where you live in Aberdeen, the cost of your residential parking permit will be changing significantly.
Here is the new charging structure in full for every zone in the city:
In total, the additional money the council expects it will make this year from the changes are as follows:
- Residential permits: £425,000
- On-street parking: £121,000
- Off-street parking: £74,000
- Total: £620,000
How many parking permits are there in use in each parking zone in Aberdeen?
Depending on the parking zone you stay in, there are various rules and charges for parking permits, with some areas only allowed one permit, and others, like Garthdee, not currently having any associated charge for permits.
The cost of an annual Aberdeen parking permit for some city centre areas will go from the current £60, all the way up to £200.
This bar chart shows how many first and second residential parking permits are currently active in Aberdeen.
Garthdee, which is zones Y and YY, has not been included in this chart.
‘To go from £60 to £200 at a time of such financial difficulty is shocking’
At the council meeting in December when the changes were voted in, the SNP/Lib Dem administration argued it would be an important step towards making the Granite City a better place to live, work and visit.
At the time, SNP councillor Alex McLellan, the council’s finance convener, said the new parking prices will help make Aberdeen a “city with significantly less vehicles in the city centre”.
The parking price increases were criticised by Tory/Labour opposition councillors.
Conservative councillor Ryan Houghton today said the new charges are “wrongly timed, and out of proportion”.
He said: “Most people would understand an incremental increase of £20 or so.
“However, to go from £60 to £200 at a time of such financial difficulty is shocking.
“The administration hoped by deciding it in December last year, it would be forgotten about by the time of the budget.
“I don’t think people will forget when they have to renew their permits and see what the cost of having an SNP/Lib Dem administration is.”
SNP’s finance chief sticks behind parking cost hikes
Today, Mr McLellan again backed the upcoming increase in costs for motorists.
He said: “Officers brought forward these proposals which looked to increase the council’s income from parking and bring our prices more in line with other major cities in Scotland — increased income will assist us in balancing the budget.
“Given we heard both Labour and the Conservative Councillors, who were working together not so long ago in coalition, speak out against the rises, I look forward to seeing their proposals to balance the books, save in the order of £50m, whilst also looking to reduce an income stream.”
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