Councillors have suspended winter charges at three coastal car parks in Barry and Penarth.
The controversial fees at Penarth Cliff Walk, Cold Knap, and Bron-y-Mor, Barry will be put on hold until spring 2026 following a decision by Vale of Glamorgan Council's cabinet on Thursday.
In January, the cabinet agreed in principle to the introduction of coastal car park charges at Cold Knap Car Park, Bron-y-Mor Car Park, Portabello Car Park (Ogmore-By-Sea), Cliff Walk Car Park and West Farm (Southerndown).
In March, the council decided to go ahead with the charges at Bron-y-Mor and Penarth cliff walk once resurfaced and at Cold Knap with the charges being introduced in September.
But local businesses raised their concerns about the impact on trade of the charges and that they were introduced at a time when trading and business conditions get more challenging during the autumn and into the winter.
The cabinet report, discussed on Thursday, said: “It is clear that the introduction of car park charges to the car parks at Penarth Cliff Walk, Cold Knap, and Bron-y-Mor Barry has generated considerable interest.”
The rationale introducing the charges in coastal locations has been that the council wishes to maintain its car parks, the highway network, and coastal destinations and facilities to the highest possible quality.
It has said that with budget challenges this is proving increasingly difficult and, in common with other councils, consideration has to be given to charging for facilities such as coastal car parks.
The report said: “This view remains that this ‘user-pays’ approach is far more appropriate and fairer than a blanket increase in council tax levels to maintain such facilities.”
The charges were introduced at the end of the summer season as schools were returning after the summer break and as visitor numbers to these popular coastal locations were reducing.
The report also said that since the beginning of September weather conditions have been challenging with a significant number of days of unsettled weather further impacting on visitor numbers and the take-up of car parking spaces in these car parks.
It adds: “It remains the case that any new charging regime takes time to become established and viewed as such."
"Anecdotally the take-up of car parking paces has been low in all these car parks and there has been an increase in car parking on the adjacent and nearby streets where unrestricted parking is available."
At Penarth Cliff Walk, car parking charges were put in place before the consideration of possible future on-street car parking charges.
A number of businesses have raised concerns at the impact of car parking charges on trade and these concerns are noted and understood, according to the report.
“It is clear that there can and will be a number of contributory factors to a more challenging trading environment during the off-season including weather conditions, shorter daylight hours, the school year, less visitors given the off-peak period, and other factors such as the rent levels for premises, business rates, and other costs related to staffing and supplies.”
The report adsds it is clear that the introduction of car parking charges at these additional car parks have caused concern to businesses and local residents but that it is also clear in hindsight that they were introduced at a time when trading and business conditions get more challenging during the autumn and into the winter.
The council has now considered the current position and the steps it could take and as a consequence it has considered it reasonable to immediately suspend the current car parking charges on a temporary basis at Penarth Cliff Walk, Cold Knap, and Bron-y-Mor until the spring of 2026.
This will allow the suspension of charges with immediate effect on this temporary basis.
A further report will be brought back on the future implementation of charges at the car parks and whether this temporary seasonal approach or variations of it are merited for future years.
The current thinking suggests there needs to be a seasonal variation in the charging applied in these car parks where charges were introduced in September of this year, the report says.
Councillor Mark Wilson, the cabinet member for neighbourhood and building services, said: “We’re adopting a flexible approach. I think it’s important that we do that.”
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