Car parking prices and planning fees to rise - Banburyshire councillors set to agree budget hikes

Increases of 25% – 35% are proposed for planning applications and parking is set to be increased by 8.3% – 12.5%. The rises would begin in April 2025.

Officers have come up with a schedule of increases which are being put to Cherwell District Council’s budget planning committee next Tuesday.

Other areas where there will be increases include property searches, waste collection and even collection of stray dogs which, if agreed, would go up by 50.8% to £285, an increase of £96.

Car parking in Banbury and Bicester is set to go up by 10p per half hour, 20p per hour over one hour’s stay and 30p for over two hours. Long-stay rates will go up by 40p – 50p over three hours. This would make the cost for an hour in a short star car park £1.40 and two to three hours £3.60.

Annual pemits for five or seven days’ parking in Banbury and Bicester will go up by 9.10% – 12.5% at £938 for a five-day permit and £1,200 for a seven-day permit.

For planning applications, proposed charge increases would go up to £578 per .1 hectare for erection of a dwelling (+25.1%) and for an area .5 – 2.5ha to £624 per .1ha (+£35.1%).

Where the number of houses exceeds 50 (£30,860 and an additional £186 for each house, subject to a maximum in total of £300,000) the rise is 35.1%, an £8001 increase.

Most licensing fees (for example for cabs, animal boarding establishments and street trading) will go up by an average of 2%.

Costs for pest control (dealing with rats, wasps, bed-bugs etc) will also go up by an average of 2% as will the cost of most council run sports pitches.

Rises in the cost of dog bin emptying for parishes are proposed 2.5% – 2.7%.

Garden waste bin collection will go up by £3 to £52 per year, an increase of 6.1%.

The council notes a £100,000 overspend at Castle Quay due to ‘void costs of holding some vacant units’ and unscheduled necessary expenditure for car park lighting and other maintenance costs. It also records a £65,000 ‘pressure’ in car parks.

The full schedule can be seen here.