Parking charges across Glasgow are to rise by up to 25% in April.

In the council’s budget, it was agreed that charges will rise and controlled parking zones across the city will be in place until 10pm.

The council said the increase is to raise money towards a £107 million budget shortfall and encourage people to use more “sustainable transport”.

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The city centre zones, parking charges will increase from £1.40 for 15 minutes to £1.60 for 15 minutes, a rise of 14%.

The charges will go up again in 2025 to £1.80 for 15 minutes and again the following year to £2 for 15 minutes.

For the zones outside the city centre, charges will go up from 80p for 15 minutes to £1 for 15 minutes, in April, a 25% rise.

They will rise again in 2025 to £1.20 and again in 2026 to £1.40 for 15 minutes.

A spokesperson for Glasgow City Council, said: “Changes to parking rates have been agreed as part of a budget that required to find £107m worth of savings from council services over the next three years.

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“The budget has sought to target poverty and invest in support for communities with Council Tax frozen for the next year.

“The changes to parking rates are consistent with Glasgow’s transport strategy, which seeks to encourage a shift to more sustainable forms of transport.

“This year’s budget will also invest almost £9.6m in street lighting, roads and footpaths, while the council continues to work with transport operators and national and regional transport agencies to secure improvements to public transport."

One city centre business has contacted the Glasgow Times to register their anger at the increase.

Allesandro Varese, of Blue Lagoon fish and chip restaurants, said it will deter customers and hit trade.

He said: “We feel this is a dreadful decision that will kill businesses.

“Ironically the announcement of this came on the same day it was confirmed we are in recession and that the nighttime economy in Glasgow was down versus last year. 

“Following the scrapping of free parking on a Sunday, this is the final deterrent for anyone wanting to travel to Glasgow by car. Public transport is too unpredictable to be relied on. 

“Our view is the extra revenue the council will gain will be offset by the businesses they will kill.

“Hospitality is already on its knees and this will push businesses into closure due to the drop in footfall it will undoubtedly cause.”

The 22 controlled zones across Glasgow will be “standardised” to operate from 8am to 10pm every day. Five already operate those hours.

There is no date yet for when the change in hours will take place.

The council spokesperson added: “The longstanding approach with parking controls has been to prioritise parking for residents in the city’s 22 parking zones.
“By standardising parking hours across all zones we are aiming to provide the maximum benefit for permit holders seven days a week.

“We also hope to encourage a shift to more sustainable forms of transport.”