Kenilworth parking charges set to go up

Kenilworth’s three council-run sites will see short-stay parking removed as part of district-wide changes to fund major refurbishment of multi-storey car parks.

Warwick District Council’s executive agreed the changes which are now out for consultation, before being finalised and implemented next year.

The new tariffs will mean removal of short-stay tickets in the town with a minimum stay of one hour at a 50p cost.

All-day parking would also rise from £3.50 to £4 across Abbey End, Square West and 
Abbey Fields car parks.

It is estimated that raising the minimum stay to one hour will bring in £29,327 of revenue in Kenilworth alone next year - with an extra £7,391 to be found in increasing the all-day ticket price.

Gary Charlton, contract services manager at the council, said: “We are having to find this extra income and these changes are being proposed as the way to do that.

“We want to encourage people to use long-stay car parks for more than half an hour, that is what they are for as opposed to short-stay sites.

“That is similar across the towns with the exception of Kenilworth where the changes are slightly different.”

All three council-run car parks in Kenilworth are long stay and a privately owned 
Talisman square site is the only central short-stay option.

If approved, the changes will mean Abbey End and Square West can no longer offer a 30-minute stay for 20p, or a 60p charge to park for between 30 and 60 minutes.

New town tariffs would mean a 50p charge to park for an hour, and a £1 fee to park for two hours. This is still half the price of the blanket pricing across Leamington and Warwick for a two-hour slot.

All three car parks will then hold the same fees for longer stays, with three hours costing £1.50, four hours costing £2 and all day being £4.

Abbey Fields will remain free for the first two hours.

On top of the minimum one hour fee, drivers would also be able to pay 10 pence to park for an additional 12 minutes.