PARKING charges at Stroud District Council-owned sites in Stroud, Stonehouse and Painswick will rise later this month, the first time in six years.

Among the changes, Stroud’s long stay car parks will see increases of 20 pence for the first hour of parking, from 60 pence to 80 pence, and see all day parking increase from £2.50 to £3.00.

In Stonehouse and Painswick, the first hour of parking will rise by 20 pence an hour to 40 pence, whilst parking all day will increase from £2.00 to £2.50 a day.

The changes affect nine sites in total.

Councillor Steve Lydon, leader of Stroud District Council said: “Nobody likes paying more for anything, so we know that increasing parking charges isn’t going to be popular.

However, we are confident that the modest increases at Stroud, Stonehouse and Painswick will not have a negative impact on shops and businesses, which is supported by national experience and research.”

“Parking charges haven’t changed since 2011, but since then costs for utilities and maintenance have risen and we’ve invested and continue to invest in improvements.

"In 2018, we plan to trial the first electric car charging point and review the provision for secure cycle and motorcycle parking.

"Even with the increases, the charges remain some of the lowest in Gloucestershire.”

The new charges come in to effect on Thursday, October 26.

Over the next year the council will also be consulting on the possibility of charging in some of its other larger car parks, including Dursley, Nailsworth, Stratford Park, Minchinhampton and Wotton-under-Edge.

Last month High Street traders in Stroud slammed the proposal to raise charges.

Juliet Farrington, who manages Moonflower, said: “We have enough trouble getting people to come into town as it is.

“If the costs do go higher we would push for free parking after 3pm, that way parents coming to pick up their kids from school can do their shopping easily.”

Karen van Kalmthout, owner of Fortune Faeries, said: “We should be trying to encourage more people to come into the town centre, not pushing them away.”

One trader, who asked not to be named, said the increase, however little, would have a severe impact.

“Little amounts of money like this can have a big impact over the course of a week or a month, and these are people who have already been hit hard, independent businesses which have battled through the recession,” he said.

As it stands, most of the 38 SDC-run car parks, such as Nailsworth and Minchinhampton, are free while some, such as Stonehouse, have low charges of 20p per hour.

Other sites such as Church Street in Stroud start at 80p per hour but have a two-hour maximum stay.

There are seven sites in Stroud town centre.

Here are the full details of the new charges:

Church Street - 1hr up from 80p to £1.10, 2hr up from £1.50 to £2

Rowcroft - 1hr up from 80p to £1.10, 2hr up from £1.50 to £2, 3hr up from £2 to £2.50

London Road MSCP, Parliament Street, London Road - 1hr up from 60p to 80p, 2hr up from £1 to £1.40, 3hr up from £1.50 to £1.80, 4hr up from £1.80 to £2.10, 4hr+ up from £2.50 to £3

Cheapside - Same as above but 4hr+ commerical up from £3.10 to £4

Merrywalks - 1hr up from 60p to 80p, 2hr up from 40p to 60p, 4hr up from £1.80 to £2.10, 6hr up from £2.50 to £3, 24hrs up from £5 to £6, night rate 6pm-8pm up from £1 to £1.50

Painswick and Stonehouse - 1hr up from 20p to 40p, 2hr up from 40p to 60p, 3hr up from 80p up to £1.10, 5hr up from £1.50 to £1.80, 5hr+ £2 up to £2.50

Season ticket changes:

Parliament Street, London Road, London Road MSCP, Cheapside and Merrywalks - One month up from £43 to £55, three months up from £130 to £165, six months up from £245 to £300, one year up from £455 to £550

London Road Service Yard - One year up from £550 to £650

Painswick and Stonehouse - One month up from £35 to £41, three months up from £104 to £120, one year up from £365 to £425