PRICES for car parking in Bracknell town centre could be hiked up by the council in October.

Councillors are set to meet next week to discuss plans to increase prices at The Avenue, High Street, Braccan Walk and Weather Way car parks by up to 20 pence an hour.

Those using the car parks for less than an hour could see a 10p rise from £1.40 to £1.50.

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Motorists using the facilities for more than sixty minutes will pay 20p more per hour should the plans be approved.

This means a driver parking for up to eight hours would pay £7.30 rather than £7.10.

If the proposals get the green light, new fees would come into force on Tuesday, October 1.

A report prepared for Bracknell Forest Council’s (BFC) town centre regeneration committee indicated the proposed increases could see the authority raise £125,000 more in income.

This comes as BFC looks to recoup some of the £450,000 it missed out on in car parking fees last year as fewer people used the town centre sites than anticipated given competition from other nearby parking sites such as at the Peel Centre and Waitrose.

Despite the potential increase, the report suggests the town centre car parks would remain “more competitive than most other local retail centres”.

An alternative fee formula outlined in the council’s report suggests fees should rise by up to 50p an hour, although officers do not recommend these prices as they would likely have a “negative impact” on the number of shoppers using the council’s sites.

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Last year, BFC bosses decided against hiking up car parking prices in order to support footfall at The Lexicon.