Motorists fear council could be phasing out cash payments for car parking

SOMERSET Council is refusing to say if motorists will be able to pay with cash for car parking after the New Year.

New car parking machines are being introduced from early 2027 but the council will not confirm if they will continue to accept cash.

A 10 per cent increase in parking charges will come into effect from late January, with another rise due next autumn when Sunday parking fees are brought in as part of a new system of ‘tiers’ being applied to car parks.

As part of the charging decision, the council has allocated £350,000 to replace ‘outdated’ pay and display machines across Somerset.

However, it said it was ‘too early in the project’ to say if the new machines will accept cash, with more details to be provided once the procurement process has been completed.

The council was asked by the Local Democracy Reporting Service to confirm how many pay and display ticket machines were being replaced, would they accept cash, and what was being done to ensure people can properly pay for parking in locations with a poor mobile phone signal.

But, a council spokesperson said: “We do not have the answers to these questions right now, it is too early in the project.”

About one in four people in Somerset are aged 65 years or older, with Age UK reporting in 2021 that one in five over-65s relied heavily on cash for their everyday spending.

Previous research by the Payment Systems Regulator found that 53 per cent of people aged 75 years and over preferred cash for most of their payment needs.

One of the Labour Party’s candidates for next year’s Somerset Council elections, Alex Martin, has called on the authority to provide reassurance on the cash for parking issue.

Mr Martin said: “People should be able to pay in the way that works for them, be it by cash, card, or phone.

“I am asking Somerset Council to guarantee that people can still pay to park in Somerset car parks with coins.

“During the ongoing cost-of-living pressure, cash helps working families, pensioners, and low-income residents budget strictly down to the penny without incurring extra app booking fees.

“We cannot build a two-tier community where people are penalised simply because their phone battery dies, they hit a dead mobile signal zone, or they prefer not to manage their lives through an app.

“Local government infrastructure must work for everybody and ensure our high street remains open, accessible, and welcoming to all.”

Any income which the council receives through car parking must be reinvested in parking or ‘related improvements’, such as new pay and display machines or resurfacing car parks.

The introduction of Sunday car parking charges where it currently does not apply has proven extremely controversial, with nearly 93 per cent of 4,200 people who responded to a public consultation saying they were against seven-day-a-week car park fees.

It was due to have come into force before Christmas, six months before the May elections, but has now been postponed until after the elections.