Drivers will pay 10 per cent more to use Somerset Council's paid car parks from January 2027, with council leaders defending the increase as fair despite opposition to their wider parking plans.

The rise will affect council parking charges in Street, Glastonbury, Wells and Shepton Mallet. A more extensive overhaul, introducing a tiered pricing system, is due to follow in autumn 2027.

Councillors approved the approach at an executive meeting on Wednesday, 7 October, after proposals published in September prompted opposition. A Conservative-organised petition attracted nearly 4,200 signatures, calling for existing free parking to be protected and proposed increases reconsidered.

The council revised its plans in response, opting for a flat 10 per cent increase in January before introducing the tiered system next autumn. Further consultation will take place over on-street parking and the future of car parks which are currently free.

The petition also called for Sunday parking to remain free where charges do not currently apply, and opposed new on-street charges without the support of affected communities and businesses. Opposition councillors argue the revised timetable delays contentious changes rather than abandoning them.

Presenting the petition, Cllr Dawn Denton, deputy leader of the Conservative opposition, said: "The pressure from Somerset residents through our campaign has clearly been felt, and we welcome the partial U-turn.

"But it is a great shame that at a time when our council repeatedly tells us that there is no money, over £270,000 pounds has been spent on excessive consultants for this review.

"While changes have now been made – which we, on behalf of the residents we all represent, all welcome – the proposals have not gone away, they have simply been delayed."

The council allocated £272,824 from its parking reserve for external consultants to gather evidence, including how busy individual car parks are. Another £350,000 from the reserve will fund replacement parking machines, with work expected to begin alongside the January increase.

Deputy council leader Liz Leyshon defended the review spending, saying specialist work was needed to address differences between parking arrangements inherited when Somerset became a unitary authority. The January increase will be the first since August 2025.

She said: "Parking charges have a great disparity across Somerset.

"I understand that there was a significant sum allocated from the parking reserve, but my view would be that this specialist knowledge is what has made this paper possible.

"I would completely back that decision to do that work that was taken in March probably, and it has been a very complex piece of work."

The council says its wider changes should help create a more consistent approach across the county. However, the debate also raised questions about how higher charges could affect shoppers, workers and town-centre businesses.

Cllr Sarah Wakefield, portfolio holder for adults' services, housing and homelessness, said the council wanted to encourage turnover in spaces used by town-centre visitors. She said the effect on trade would be monitored.

She said: "We want people to come in and shop and enjoy our town centre – but we want them to move as well. We don't want them to stay there all day.

"If it's a town centre car park for shoppers and people visiting the town centre, we don't really want people to park their cars all day. We'd rather they used our park and ride (where it's available) or used further out of town, or even active travel routes.

"If these changes we bring in have a deleterious effect on trade and town centre movements, and they don't bring in money or people stop coming in, we'll be monitoring the effects of that and looking at what we can do about it."

Council leader Bill Revans defended the approach, saying public feedback had helped reshape the proposals. He said the authority needed to address the different arrangements inherited from its predecessor councils.

He said: "The simple fact is we must be fair to all towns in Somerset, and that is the policy that we're pursuing. We inherited a patchwork quilt of previous arrangements.

"Of course I have sympathy with motorists, because no-one likes increases in car park charges, but we have a policy that the user pays.

"This has been a huge piece of work. It's taken a long time to get it right."

For local drivers, the immediate change is the January increase in existing charges. Decisions about currently free car parks and new on-street charging remain subject to further consultation, ahead of the wider scheme's planned introduction in autumn 2027.

By Daniel Mumby, Local Democracy Reporter. Adapted for Nub News.

More local stories

• Fireworks 2026 near Street, Glastonbury, Wells and Shepton Mallet
• Somerset parking changes: what they mean for you

Subscribe to the free Glastonbury Nub News newsletter Get the biggest Glastonbury stories straight to your inbox.