Published on Friday, 25th November 2022
Norwich City Council is starting a public consultation today (Friday 25 November) on the introduction of car parking charges at Eaton Park.
This is the first of the city’s parks to be considered for the charges and comes following a council decision in 2021 to introduce charges in some of the city’s parks. The decision was made as a result of mounting financial pressure on the council.
The move to introduce these charges has the backing of those who responded to the council’s 2022-23 budget consultation in which they gave their support to the council to prioritise increasing fees and charges to protect services.
People who use Eaton Park are invited to have their say on the charges by taking part in the consultation, which runs from today until 3 January 2023.
Proposed parking costs will start at £2 for up to four hours and will apply Monday to Sunday, including bank holidays. For full details on the proposed tariffs please visit the parking pages of our website.
Councillor Adam Giles, cabinet member responsible for parks and open spaces, said: “As a council we are having to make some extremely difficult decisions because of the financial pressure we are facing.
“We take great pride in the parks we manage and know how important they are for their local communities and visitors from further afield. We are lucky to have a number of fantastic, award-winning parks in Norwich and encourage people to use those nearest to their homes or to get there by sustainable transport, where possible. For those that do have to park at Eaton Park, the proposed introduction of charging will help the council protect vital services for residents.”
It is estimated the introduction of parking charges at Eaton Park will bring in approximately £50,000 a year to the council’s budget, which faces a shortfall of £6.20m in the next financial year.
“It’s clear that we can no longer rely on the government to provide sufficient funding, said Cllr Giles.
“This leaves us no choice but to factor in income generation as part of our approach to balancing our budget – in order to generate enough money to deliver our vital services.”
If agreed, the charges will come into effect early next year. The city council will be considering the introduction of charges in car parks at other parks next year.
Anyone wanting to offer feedback or object to the proposed charging for parking at Eaton Park is asked to email TrafficOrders@norfolk.gov.uk
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