Revealed: How much Brighton day-trippers can save on parking costs

Visitors to Brighton can now save on parking charges after the council pledged to cut prices to avoid putting daytrippers off from visiting the area with hefty £33.50-per-day tariffs.

Councillors agreed to lower car park tariffs after a report found the dramatically increased charges had put people off from visiting Brighton and Hove and led to a decrease in revenue. 

It had been predicted that over the next 12 months parking fees could fall by some £1.16million under the measures introduced by the Greens - putting further pressure on the council's strained budget. 

The Greens, which previously led the council, had introduced sky-high prices in a bid to make Brighton a car-free area, with more than 200 different parking tariffs in use over the past two decades. 

But after Labour retook control of the area in the May 2023 elections, locals and visitors are set to receive a last-minute reprieve from hefty charges at popular parking spots around Brighton and Hove.

Drivers can now save up to £7 per day at certain car parks across the towns of Brighton and Hove - with more cuts expected to be announced in the future. 

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The council is wasting no time in acting after its latest meeting, at which it was agreed to scrap higher charges in order to achieve the desired £45.5 million parking income budget for this year.

The review found increases over the past five years have meant parking fees 'have become more of a deterrent than an incentive and prohibitively expensive for some visitors'.

As the council approved a new plan to cut parking costs over the coming years, it also announced lower prices at five car parks across Brighton and Hove last week. 

The Lanes car park will see its hourly tariff reduced from £5.50 to £4, while the Trafalgar Street site will see the same decrease, as well as reducing overnight parking from £15 to £7.50.

Visitors parking in Regency Square will pay £4 for an hour, down from £5, and £25 for 24 hours, down from £32.

Separate evening and overnight rates are being abolished, with a single overnight charge of £7.50 - down from £17 on weekends and £15 on weekdays. 

London road will see its charge down to £2 for an hour, from the previous £3, and an introduction of the same overnight rate.

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And Norton Road car park in Hove will see its hourly rate drop 20p to £1.50, and an overnight charge of just £3.

Tory Cllr Alistair McNair, who leads the council's opposition group said: 'Parking revenue has been falling and the council has a reputation for being anti-car.'

'We hope resident permit holders also get a reduction in their fees and this city starts to be car-friendly, which also means family and disabled-friendly.

'This parking charge reduction, while welcome, is a gamble as revenue could fall further because the city's reputation has been tarnished for years.'

With the massive increase in parking charges, council owned car parks were less busy and generated less revenue. 

Among the plans being considered are reduced parking charges at night with special evening tariffs to boost the night-time economy. 

However, diesel car drivers are being charged up to £250 extra per year for parking near their homes as more than half of London’s councils impose air pollution surcharges, an investigation has found.

Residential on-street parking permits are more expensive for diesel vehicles in 18 of the capital’s 32 boroughs, including Brighton. 

Hackney has the highest surcharge in the country, charging the owners of a diesel car an additional £250-a-year for an on-street parking permit. 

In Islington, the anti-diesel surcharge is £220 and in Brighton diesel owners can expect to pay £62.05 a year extra. 

But Friends Of The Earth warned that analysis in 2022 showed that 4.5 million Londoners lived in areas where air pollution levels were double World Health Organisation guidelines, which are stricter than UK limits, for at least one of the two key air pollutants.

Much of England and Wales also suffers from poor air quality, the green group said.

Darren Rodwell, transport spokesperson for the Local Government Association, which represents councils in England and Wales, said: 'It is a matter for each council, based on local factors, on how they may wish to improve air quality and reduce pollution, which could include diesel surcharges for residential parking permits.'