August 18, 2021 10.03 am This story is over 31 months old

Parents’ £800 school run parking bill could be slashed

The city council is considering a ‘special rate’
Westgate car park. | Photo: Google Street View

Parents in Lincoln are in line to save £500 a year in parking fees if the city council approves a plan to bring in a ‘special rate’ for the school run – but they’ll still face a £300 bill.

Plans for a new car park permit will be discussed by the City of Lincoln Council’s executive next Wednesday, and came about after a resident got in touch to say the current hourly charges were not ‘encouraging’ for those on the school run.

The council’s parking services team has now suggested it would be possible to offer a special rate that could apply for short durations at specific times during school days.

The new rate would help those who need school parking and reduce on street parking in some areas of the city.

Using an uphill car park as an example and 70 days as the average basis for a term, purchase of an hour for each visit would cost £266 per term with three terms costing £798 per year.

The proposal is to offer a special school loyalty permit that will permit parking only in term times and restricted to between 8am to 9am and 3.30pm to 4.30pm on weekdays.

Those with a disabled badge will be given 7.30am to 9.30am and 3pm to 5pm weekdays, reflecting the potential need to have more time to do the same tasks.

The permit would cost £105 per term, with a further discount to £299 if all three terms are purchased at the same time, creating a saving of up to £499 per year.

Councillor Neil Murray, Portfolio Holder for Economic Growth at City of Lincoln Council said: “We understand that in some instances, such as school drop-offs and pick-ups, visitors to our car parks are unlikely to need the full hour slot.

“After taking on board the needs of our residents in the city, we have worked to develop a suitable solution for those who wish to use our car parks simply to drop-off and pick-up their children from school.”