COUNCILS have been accused of clawing back the Government’s summer savings from hard-pressed families by hitting seaside visitors with parking charges of up to £30 a day.
Ministers have slashed VAT on family days out this summer as part of the Great British Summer Savings scheme, aimed at helping households enjoy cheaper trips to the coast, cinemas and theme parks.
But motoring experts warn the entire scheme risks being rendered pointless, with some coastal councils charging drivers almost as much to park as families are saving on their day out.
Day-long parking at some seaside car parks now costs between £20 and £30, wiping out much of the benefit of the VAT cut in one go.
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Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council has this week restarted its controversial trial of London-style parking fines, which can reach £160 in August for common offences such as overstaying a ticket.
The tougher fines were originally introduced to crack down on rogue parking on verges, double yellow lines and roundabouts near the resort’s beaches.
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But last year the council was accused of overreaching by also slapping the higher fines on visitors who had parked correctly in official car parks but made minor mistakes, such as parking over a line or not displaying a ticket properly.
Day-long parking itself is not cheap either, with Bournemouth’s Beacon Road and Bath Road South car parks charging up to £28.
Rother District Council charges £30 for more than six hours at Camber Sands, while Brighton drivers can pay £18 to park at Black Rock or King Alfred car parks.
East Devon’s seafront car parks charge £2.20 an hour, adding up quickly for a family day trip.
By contrast, many car parks in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland remain free, with Aberdeenshire Council even running a voluntary “pay what you like” scheme instead of fixed charges.
Cheaper alternatives closer to home do exist, with Hayling Island charging £11.50 for a full day and Portsmouth’s Southsea seafront costing £9.60 for six to eight hours.
Jack Cousens, the AA’s head of roads policy, said families and their spending are “often the lifeblood of tourism and commercial vibrancy” in seaside towns.
He said: “Some councils leech these consumers for the money they can get from parking, to compensate for their financial failures.”
Cousens said high parking charges risk pushing away the very visitors whose spending supports local shops, cafes and businesses.
He added: “The other sad aspect is that sky-high parking charges reduce potential visitor spending at businesses that rely on tourism.”
He went on to warn that the trend directly undermines the Government’s own cost-of-living efforts.
“The Government must also be miffed by rip-off parking charges grabbing the Great British Summer Savings they have been so keen to promote,” he said.
The Great British Summer Savings scheme, running until September 1, cuts VAT from 20%to 5% on children’s meals, family cinema and theatre tickets, and entry to attractions such as theme parks, zoos and soft play centres.
Children aged five to 15 in England can also travel free on local buses throughout August under the same package, which is expected to cost the Treasury around £300million.
But with parking charges eating up so much of the savings, and fines that can top £160 for minor slip-ups, critics argue families may end up no better off than before the scheme began.
