Charges for parking in rural areas of Horsham set to rise by 11 per cent

Horsham District Council is increasing the cost of its annual rural parking disc from £18 to £20 and introducing digital discs.

The discs will allow users to park in 12 town and village car parks for up to a maximum of four hours, depending on the maximum stay of the car park.

The car parks are: Billingshurst Library car park and Six Bells, four hours no return within two hours; Henfield Library car park and Coopers Way, four hours no return within two hours; Roffey Godwin Way, three hours no return within two hours; Pulborough Lower Street, four hours no return within two hours; Steyning High Street, two hours no return within two hours; Newmans Gardens, Steyning and Fletchers Croft, Steyning, four hours no return within two hours; Storrington Monastery Lane, three hours no return within two hours; Storrington Library, four hours no return within two hours; Old Mill Square, Storrington, two hours no return within two hours.

A Horsham District Council spokesperson said: "The price of the annual parking disc has been held since 2022. Income from the annual parking disc is re-invested into refurbishment projects which maintain our rural car parks to a high standard. This is important to keep our car parks modern, accessible and to support visits to rural towns and villages that help local economies thrive.

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"However, costs within the construction industry have risen sharply over the last two years. Between January 2022, when the last price rise was proposed, and July 2024, when this price rise will come into effect, the Building Tender Price Index forecasts construction costs to have risen by over 13 per cent in the south of England."This price rise not only affects capital projects already planned and costed but also future projects. Therefore, in order to keep in line with rising costs, a comparative rise to the annual parking disc is required.”

Residents can access digital parking discs by downloading the MiPermit app or visiting the HDC website for registration instructions.