A fall in income and rising costs led to the increase in parking charges in council-owned car parks, Wokingham Borough Council has emphasised.

It comes after figures published by the government suggested that the council lost more than £700,000 on its off-street parking service in the last financial year – April 2022 to April 2023.

In a statement, councillor Paul Fishwick said the costs of running the parking service had led to a shortfall in the budget, after years of no increases to charges.

He said: “In recent years the car parking service has contributed less to the maintenance of our roads and footpaths, leaving a shortfall in the budget. This was caused by less income from car parking, increased demand on services and inflation.

“Between April 2018 and July 2023, our parking fees did not increase. This meant that residents, businesses and visitors enjoyed cheaper parking for longer, rather than the gradual increases seen in other areas.”

READ MORE: Wokingham Borough Council lost £729,000 on off-street parking

Wokingham Borough Council increased car park fees in July this year. Councillor Fishwick said this was necessary to ensure that the council can run a balanced budget.

He said: “The council is legally required to produce a balanced budget—meaning what we spend is equal to what we receive in income. Car parking income is an essential part of that balanced budget and contributes to the cost of maintaining our highways services.

“As a council, we are working as hard as we can to balance our budget and avoid becoming insolvent, as several other local authorities such as Slough and Birmingham have done. And, when making budget decisions we will prioritise those who need us most.”

The government’s figures also show that its income from on-street parking – which for Wokingham Borough Council comes from fines and sales of parking permits - was £1,885,000. Its expenditure on on-street parking services was £519,000.

When off-street and on-street figures are combined, they show that the council made a net gain of £637,000 from parking in the 2022-23 financial year.