Parking charges in Edinburgh are set to rise by up to 13% – putting the cost of leaving a car in some city centre streets at £9 an hour – under budget proposals to go before councillors next week.
Edinburgh’s minority Labour administration has set out its proposed budget for the next year, including funding for new schools and spending on temporary accommodation.
They are also proposing an 8% council tax increase, which would mean a band ‘D’ Council Tax of £1,563.51 for 2025/26.
Under the proposals, parking on George St, St Andrew Square, Charlotte Square, Queen St, Market St and Cockburn St would increase 9.76% to £9 per hour.
Parking in the Stafford St and Melville St area, Morrison St to Shandwick Place and the Old Town, including East Market St, would rise by over 11% to £8 an hour.
And parking in the West End, Palmerston Place area, Moray Place, South Side/ Nicholson St, Tollcross/Fountainbridge and Heriot Row would rise by over %13 to £6.80 an hour.
Parking in New town area including Northumberland St to St Stephen St and Royal Crescent would rise 11% to £6 an hour, while parking in Bruntsfield, Sciennes, St Leonard’s, Dumbiedykes, Stockbridge, and Dean would rise 12% to £4.50 an hour
The increases also include a rise of 15% for on-street parking in South Queensferry, taking it to £1.50 per hour.
Parking charges in the Extended Controlled Zone would increase by over 10% to £4.20 an hour, while charges for on street bus/coach parking would rise by over 11% to £9.80 per hour.
While it is not set out in the budget, the expectation would be that fund raised by the increase could go towards a£12.5 million investment into maintaining pavements, streetscapes, lighting and roads outlined in the budget.
Labour are also pledging an additional £5m for Safer Routes to School and other travelling safely initiatives, and in improving areas identified as feeling unsafe in the Women’s Safety survey.
Labour will have to negotiate with other parties in order to get a working budget over the line given that it does not command a majority in the council.
The proposed 8% increase in council tax is in line with what council officers suggested in their draft budget, and is also the figure in the SNP and Liberal Democrat budget motions.
Meanwhile, the Conservative motion is looking at a 7% increase while the Greens are looking for a 10% hike.
The budget motion will go before a meeting of the full council to be held on Thursday, February 20.
By Joe Sullivan Local Democracy Reporter
The Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) is a public service news agency. It is funded by the BBC, provided by the local news sector (in Edinburgh that is Reach plc (the publisher behind Edinburgh Live and The Daily Record) and used by many qualifying partners. Local Democracy Reporters cover news about top-tier local authorities and other public service organisations.
