Parking charges will increase at three beauty spots across Bristol

Council leaders in Bristol have approved massive hikes in car park charges at three beauty spots.

Bristol City Council cabinet agreed increases of up to 50 per cent at Oldbury Court, Blaise Estate and Ashton Court.

Charges will rise from £1 to £1.50 for up to an hour and from £2 to £2.60 at Ashton Court and Blaise and £2.50 at Oldbury Court.

There will be a new charge of £3.50 for three hours at Ashton Court and Blaise and four hours at Oldbury, while five-hour stays are going up from £3 to £4.50 at Ashton Court and Blaise.

Neighbours and opposition councillors say motorists are already avoiding recently introduced pay and display meters by leaving their vehicles on nearby roads, causing traffic problems and nuisance for people living there.

Mayor Marvin Rees and council officers insist the pay and display trials, which came into force at Oldbury Court and Blaise a year ago, had shown no significant impact on visitor numbers to the parks’ cafes and kiosks, so people were now more likely to walk or cycle instead of driving.

The Local Democracy Reporting Service said that Conservative opposition group leader Cllr Mark Weston warned that the fees had created “huge problems in nearby residential streets”.

He said the big price increases would “only make a bad situation worse”.

Labour councillor Ellie King said: "We are implementing electronic counting of access into the car parks to monitor the traffic that is coming in and we will be analysing the changes to keep an eye on that."

Disability and passenger transport campaigner David Redgewell told the meeting that green travel plans and access for disabled people needed to be improved at beauty spots.

He said: “We are asking that some of the money from the charges goes into disabled access and that discussions take place with disabled groups to make sure these parks are fully accessible.

“We need a city for everybody, not just for the few.”

Marvin Rees said conversations would take place with Bristol Disability Equality Commission and other groups so the council could understand and address the challenges faced.

Credit: Adam Postans, LDRS