North Yorkshire Council

Environment Executive Members

27 February 2026

Parking Tariff Review

Report of the Assistant Director – Highways and Infrastructure

1.0       PURPOSE OF REPORT

1.1       To seek authority from the Corporate Director - Environment in consultation with the Executive Member for Highways and Transportation to apply a 10% uplift to the charges effective from 01 April 2026.

2.0       SUMMARY

2.1       This tariff review proposes a 10% uplift to parking charges to cater for inflationary cost increases into 2027 and is also in recognition of the significant investment that the council is making in terms of improvements to car parking facilities.

3.0       TARIFF UPLIFT PROPOSALS

3.1       A 10% tariff uplift is proposed to come into effect on 01 April 2026 this uplift reflects the inflationary costs incurred and expected into 2027.  The uplift also recognises the Council’s ongoing and significant funding investment in its 170 car parks such as new parking machines, car park lighting improvements, new signing, new notice processing software, rationalisation of parking apps and the digitisation of Traffic Regulation Orders.  All of these measures are in support of the recently adopted Parking Principles document which provides the first ever countywide policy framework covering both on and off-street parking.

3.1.1    The 10% uplift will apply to all tariffs, permits and scratch cards and overall, the proposed uplift will have a positive impact on the budget of £1.9 million, for the financial year 26/27.

3.1.2    The 10% uplift in the cost of Residents Permits and scratch cards is necessary to contribute to the cost of the management of these schemes and the financial impact of doing so is £160k per year at the current permit numbers and is linked to the variation of the order above.

3.2       The full tariff breakdowns are contained in the Appendices at the end of this report. Please note that the 10% increase is rounded up to the nearest 10p and therefore, for example, a £1.20 tariff becomes £1.40 with the 10% increase (12p) being rounded up to 20p.

(Appendix A - On–Street Variation to Order, Appendix B - Off–Street Variation to Order)

4.0       CONTRIBUTION TO COUNCIL PRIORITIES

4.1       This proposal supports the council's priorities for sustainable transport and financial resilience. The changes to parking fees are underpinned by the Council’s Parking Principles document, formally adopted by the Executive on 19 August 2025, which align with the Council Plan 2024–2028 and the Local Transport Plan. In accordance with Section 122 of the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984, the Council has a statutory duty to secure the expeditious, convenient, and safe movement of traffic, and to provide suitable and adequate parking facilities. The fee uplift is proposed to cater for inflationary cost increases into 2027 and in recognition of the significant investment that the council is making in terms of improvements to car parking facilities.

5.0       ALTERNATIVE OPTIONS CONSIDERED

5.1       To leave the tariffs unchanged would fail to recognise the inflationary cost increases and put pressure on existing budgets and service levels.

6.0       IMPACT ON OTHER SERVICES/ORGANISATIONS

6.1       The proposed changes will not impact on any other services or organisations.

7.0       FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS

7.1       The inflationary increase of 10% applied to all tariffs, scratch cards and residents’ permits is estimated to generate a total of £1.9m additional income in 26/27.  This is less than is needed to meet the savings included in the Medium-Term Financial Strategy (MTFS).

7.2       The two years of the MTFS covering 25/26 and 26/27 includes savings from increased parking income totalling £5.513m. £1.95m was achieved in 25/26; with the addition of the £1.9m to be achieved through the 10% tariff increase in 26/27, a total increase of £3.85m will be achieved across the two years.  There will therefore be a shortfall in income of £1.663m in 26/27 compared to the agreed budget.

7.3       Further initiatives are to be considered as part of the Local Area Action Plans process in line with the recently adopted Parking Principles document to meet the objectives set out in the MTFS.

8.0       LEGAL IMPLICATIONS

8.1       Section 122 of the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984 as amended. Section 122 places a statutory duty on local authorities to exercise their traffic-related functions in a way that, as far as practicable, secures the expeditious, convenient, and safe movement of vehicular and pedestrian traffic, and ensures the provision of suitable and adequate parking facilities both on and off the highway.

8.2       In accordance with section 35C of the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984 local authorities have the power to vary charges for the use of off-street parking places by giving public notice, rather than having to amend the original traffic order. A Notice of Variation will be required to be published in accordance with the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984.

9.0       EQUALITIES IMPLICATIONS

9.1       The Equality Impact Assessment Part 1 is at Appendix C to this report, the tariff increase and permit/scratch cards increases will apply across all existing charges with no negative impact specific to those groups with protected characteristics.

10.0     CLIMATE CHANGE IMPLICATIONS

10.1     One of the aims of parking fees in general is to create a change in driving behaviours thereby encouraging other means of travel and permit regulation supports climate goals by reducing congestion and emissions. A climate assessment can be found at Appendix D to this report.

11.0 CONCLUSIONS

11.1     This tariff review proposes a 10% uplift to parking charges to cater for inflationary cost increases into 2027 in recognition of the significant investment that the council is making in terms of improvements to car parking facilities.

12.0	RECOMMENDATION
12.1	That the new fees and charges 10% uplift as set out this report and appendices is approved to come into effect from 1 April 2026.  .

APPENDICES:

Appendix A - On–Street Variation to Order

Appendix B - Off–Street Variation to Order

Appendix C - Equalities Impact Assessment

Appendix D - Climate Change Impact Assessment

BACKGROUND DOCUMENTS:

Parking Principles

Barrie Mason

Assistant Director Highways and Infrastructure

County Hall

Northallerton

17 February 2026

Report Author – Steve Brown, Head of Parking Services

Presenter of Report – Steve Brown, Head of Parking Services