North West Leicestershire District Council (NWLDC) has announced that it has ended its car parking review and that parking charges will stay the same, following feedback from local residents and businesses.

But the council says that with a predicted gap in the budget from next year, the authority has now warned that work must now be done to balance the budget 'in alternative ways'.

The review of the council's car parking facilities and charges aimed to reduce the amount of subsidy the council currently pays towards the running costs of its car parks. However, feedback from local people, businesses and partners has led NWLDC to decide to keep parking charges as they are. The review launched with a public survey in May 2024, which received nearly 4,500 responses.

The council says running costs for the district council's car parks outweigh the income generated through parking tickets and the parking service has been subsidised by the council in recent years.

Councillor Michael Wyatt, Deputy Leader and Portfolio Holder for Communities and Climate Change at NWLDC said: "Throughout the course of the car parking review, we've reflected on what people have told us. Thank you to everyone who has taken the time to respond to our survey or get in touch with us separately about the future of our car parks.

Photo: Pixabay

"We have also had a lot of engagement with partners and businesses in the district, who are understandably concerned about the current economic climate and ongoing pressures on the high street.

"We recognise that it's a tough time for our town centres. Whilst we do need to balance the running costs of our car parks, we also understand that they must be priced competitively to encourage people to continue to visit and work in our town centres.

 "Therefore, we've decided that our car parking fees and charges will remain as they are for the foreseeable future."