Car Parking Charges in Denbighshire Set to Increase as Council Faces £26m Black Hole

Car parking charges across Denbighshire are set to increase as the council faces a £26m black hole.
The council says it must cut services and jobs in a desperate bid to make ends meet and avoid potential bankruptcy.
While leader Cllr Jason McLellan admitted council tax will inevitably increase to raise much-needed finances, he also said that Denbighshire could start to charge for services that were previously covered by council tax funds.
In an interview with the Local Democracy Reporting Service, the leader said current charges for services could also increase, starting with car parking.
“I understand people are paying for council tax, and in addition we’d be asking them to pay for other services,” he said.
“But again, it is something all councils are doing. I’ll be honest with you – we are looking at car parking charges.
“They haven’t increased since 2016, and we’ve seen inflation go up.
“So that is something we will be looking at, and I fully understand people’s frustration that they are paying council tax and then there are additional charges, but this is the most challenging and difficult of times.”
He added: “We are living in unprecedented times.
“We really are. It would be wrong for me not to say it’s going to impact across the board.
“I can understand people’s frustration.
“What I want to do is be honest with the public and say we face such unprecedented times, a difficult financial situation due to a number of factors, and I can understand that people are cross, that they are going to see cuts to services.”
Denbighshire has several free car parks but elsewhere currently charges 30p for 30 minutes, £1 for an hour, £1.50 for three hours, and £3.50 for all day.

By Richard Evans – Local Democracy Reporter