Parking charges set to rise at Berwick railway station with new fee for short-stays
Parking charges at Berwick railway station are set to increase.
The cost of parking there all day will rise from £3.50 to £4.50.
Charges will also be introduced for short stay parking at the station. Previously free, a 20 minute stay will soon cost 50p.
A report by Northumberland County Council states: “The charges at railway stations are to broadly reflect with those set by Network Rail owned car parks.”
Free parking in Berwick town centre will remain in place, with time restrictions in certain car parks which require the use of a parking disc costing £1 and available from tourist information and visitor centres, local shops and in machines.
Charges will stay the same in coastal car parks in Holy Island, Bamburgh, Seahouses and Beadnell.
However, there will be an increase in coach parking prices due to come into effect from May.
At Bamburgh’s main car park, Seahouses Station Yard and Holy Island Green Lane, coach parking for four hours will increase from £9.50 to £15 and all day from £13.50 to £20.
Parking charges in country parks at Druridge Bay, Plessey Woods and Bolam Lake will also increase.
Annual charges for the Northumberland Pay & Display Permit are also amended as per the previously agreed three-year price increase plan, with a 30% rise for the next financial year, along with the Country Park Parking Permit which is to rise by 10%.
The council report adds: “Charges for off-street car parking are set to meet sensible commercial objectives. The car parking charges that are set each year by the council are in response to the demands placed on the existing car parking capacity, the cost to manage, maintain and enforce, where necessary, those car parking facilities.
"The high level of visitors which Northumberland’s coastline, country parks and railway station users attracts each year must be managed and car parking capacity and demand in these locations needs to be effectively managed and this includes the use of parking charges.
"The charges imposed at country and coastal parks are designed to reduce longer stays and to encourage shorter stays which improves the turnover of vehicles, therefore maximising the availability and utilisation of parking spaces.”