Rise in car parking charges in Gosport, Lee-on-Solent and Stokes Bay criticised
Car parking fees and other charges will go up in Gosport from January 1 to boost council coffers – but opponents said it will only help cover costs of “crazy vanity projects”.
Conservative Councillor Stephen Philpott (Peel Common) said the rises, around 6 per cent, would bring in an extra £87,500 for Gosport Borough Council.
Among the rises, car parking in Gosport’s town centre, Lee-on-Solent, Stokes Bay, Hardway Slipway and Alver Valley will cost drivers more at £1.70 per hour and £9.60 over five hours/per day in 2025.
In 2024, the same car park cost increased to £1.60 per hour from one pound in 2022 and £9.10 from £7.00 in 2022 over five hours/per day.
That works out as an increase of 70 per cent in the two years since the Liberal Democrats started running the council.
In 2022, an annual car permit was £490, it then rose to £660 in 2024 and from January 1 will be £700. A six-month permit will be £410, a three-month permit £225 and a one-month permit £76. A Gosport town centre residents’ permits will then cost £100.
There will also be increases in fees for sports pitches, allotments in 2026, beach huts and burial fees, council documents said.
Beach hut rental charge for Gosport-only residents will increase in January to an annual rate of £1,280 and £965 with concessions for over 60s. That is up from £1,210 and concessions £915 in 2024. In 2022, charges were increased from £920 and £690 respectively.
Councillor Peter Chegwyn (Lib Dem, Forton), leader of Gosport Borough Council, defended the rises. He said: “Like many councils, we face significant financial challenges in the current economic climate. This modest increase in fees is the lowest in three years and will generate over £85,000 to help cover the rising costs of providing these valuable services to residents that use them.”
Conservative Councillor Stephen Philpott (Peel Common) said: “Increases are unjustified. The Liberal Democrats are seeking to get as much money as they can from any source to pay for their crazy and wasteful vanity projects.”
He added: “The latest hikes are three times the rate of inflation and come after previous recent steep rises. It means that in less than two-and-a-half years the Lib Dem-run council has increased the average cost of car parking in Gosport and Lee-on-Solent car parks by 68.3 per cent; parking permits by an average of 53.9 per cent; and sports pitches by 56 per cent.
The estimated extra £87,500 for the council is set to come from: car parking £61,000, parking permits £8,500, cemetery £4,000, land charges £3,000, taxi licensing £2,500, waste/recycling £2,500, land hire £2,000, beach huts £2,000, sports pitches £1,000 and allotments £1,000.
Council documents said charging for particular services means its users fund it, rather than the cost falling across all residents through council tax.
The 15 Liberal Democrats who run the council, as well as Labour councillors, voted for the increases in charges which start on New Year’s Day. The 11 Conservative councillors voted against the move at the full council meeting on December 11.