PRICE HIKE DOESN’T PAY OFF AS UPTAKE OF INFLATED PARKING PERMIT DROPS

The Isle of Wight Council is predicting it will not make as much money from a once-popular parking permit this year. Having increased in price by 20% in the last 9 months, a year-long All-Island Parking Permit now costs £648, which is more than double its original cost. New figures, revealed by a Freedom of Information request, have shown how the levels of permits bought by Islanders have risen and fallen since it was introduced nearly 10 years ago. In 2014, 624 permits were sold, at a price of £295 each, and allowed residents to park for up to 6 hours in long-stay car parks and 2 hours in short-stay. Its popularity rose the next year, when nearly 20% more were sold. The number of people buying a permit kept rising as the price stayed the same— until 2019 when fees were increased by 10%. After the 1st price increase to £324.50, permits in circulation fell by nearly a quarter, from 848 in 2018 (its highest point) to 639 in 2019. Costs rose once again in 2020 but changes were made to the permit which allowed residents to park for 24 hours in a long-stay car park, but still 2 hours in a short-stay. For those who bought a year-long pass, it cost £540 upfront or £600 by monthly direct debit — more than double the original price in 2014. In 2020, monthly passes were also introduced at £50 per month. This has proven successful with nearly 9,000 sold in the 3 years they have been available. After the 66% price hike, and paired with the COVID pandemic, and the introduction of the monthly pass, the number of year-long permits halved. 3 years later, the Isle of Wight Council decided to raise prices again, this time by 20%. For a monthly pass, payments rose to £60 and the yearly pass £648. It was hoped the increase would make the cash-strapped council an additional £60,000. The Isle of Wight Council is, however, predicting it will fall short of the parking income target it set itself, with a contributing factor being a lack of money from the All-Island parking permit. So far in 2023, 236 year-long permits have been sold between 1st April and 5th October. Paired with a forecasted fall in income from off-street parking, the authority predicted at the end of September a budget deficit of £241,000 come March 2024. However, the council had predicted in June the deficit would be £52,000 worse.