CAR parking charges in Monmouthshire will increase from next Wednesday, January 8, with two hours' parking to rise by 40p to £1.50.

Monmouthshire County Council will also introduce Sunday parking charges in more than 20 council-run car parks, while charges will also be introduced in a number which are currently free to use.

A council spokeswoman said income from parking charges "continues to be an issue" for the council - with the authority currently predicting a £413,000 overspend in the area - and that the price increases would "go a small way" towards addressing this.

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She added the council was "conscious of the potential impact" on footfall in the county's town centres, and that the pricing strategy was currently being reviewed – with impact on traders being taken into consideration.

The price rises, she added, had been agreed as part of the 2019/20 budget and had "taken some time to be implemented".

Currently, visitors to a Monmouthshire council pay-and-display car park are charged £1.10 for up to two hours, £1.70 for up to three hours, and £2.20 for up to four hours.

Under the new policy, these charges will rise to £1.50 for up to two hours, £1.90 for up to three hours, and £2.40 for up to four hours.

The council has also brought in Sunday parking charges for longer stays, albeit at a cheaper rate. On Sundays, pay-and-display car parks will be free for the first two hours, and then £1 for the remainder of the day.

The four free car parks to be converted into pay-and-displays are:

  • Station Road, Chepstow.
  • The Station, Chepstow
  • Cinderhill Street, Monmouth
  • Rowing Club, Monmouth

Parking in each of these four car parks will be £1.50 to park all day, Monday to Saturday. All other free car parks in the country will remain unchanged.

Season tickets for pay-and-displays, which typically cost £110 for three months and £430 for one year, will be more expensive in some areas but remain unchanged in others.