FREE parking is set to be scrapped at a popular park in Cardiff.
Cardiff Council has put up a notice at the Llandaff Fields car park stating they will start charging people to park there for up to one hour.
Currently it is free to park at Llandaff Fields for up to two hours.
You can also park there for five hours but under the council’s new plans four hours will be the maximum stay.
These are the proposed charges for the Llandaff Fields car park:
- 1 hr – £1
- 2 hr – £2
- 3 hr – £3.50
- 4 hr – £4.50
The council said it was unable to say exactly when the charges will come into effect.
However the notice published by the local authority states that objections and representations relating to the proposed charges must be submitted to them by Saturday, February 22, 2025.
Last year Cardiff Council announced that it planned to get rid of free parking at a number of locations in Llandaff, Whitchurch, Rhiwbina, and Llanishen.
At the time Cardiff Council said it was preparing for the most challenging budget position it had ever faced.
For the 2024-25 financial year the local authority had to save £30m.
A petition objecting to plans to remove free parking in Llandaff has to date gained more than 3,340 signatures.
Cardiff Council ward councillor for Llandaff Cllr Sean Driscoll, who started the petition on Change.org, said the council’s plans could have a detrimental impact on local businesses that are “already operating on a knife-edge”.
When we visited Llandaff in April 2024 to speak with people about plans to remove two hours free parking at Llandaff High Street car park a number of employees at local businesses said the move would have an impact.
The manager of one business told us parking charges would affect passing trade and set businesses back.
An employee of another business told us parking in High Street at peak times was already “mayhem” and that parking charges will “make things worse”, adding that it could also deter shoppers.
Older people living in the area said it would affect them too. At the time 85-year-old Yvonne Apsitis told us many people aged 50 and over rely on Llandaff’s free parking to visit the GP surgery and attend group sessions at a social inclusion charity called Llandaff 50+.
The group holds a number of activities including tai chi, IT workshops, arts and craft sessions, and talks on various topics.
One woman we spoke to called Elizabeth, who attended Llandaff 50+ every week, said the group was a “social support for us all” and that having no free parking would have an impact on it.
Elizabeth added: “I had a cancer operation and here was so supportive when I had it.
“The support I got from my friends here was really helpful.”
Cardiff Council said it was unable to give a definitive date on when the traffic orders will come into effect.
Plans to remove free parking in residential areas in the city were proposed as part of the 2024-25 budget and the council added that traffic regulation orders (TRO) on these changes are still progressing.
It can take up to six months for the legal order to progress once instigated.
A Cardiff Council spokesman said: “The council’s budget position for the last two years has been challenging.
“Difficult decisions have had to me made, which includes the removal of the free one- or two-hour parking in residential shopping areas.
“This change will come into effect later this year following the legal process and any surplus income will be re-invested into highway and transport schemes so we can continue to improve public transport, walking, and cycling facilities across the city.
“As a council we must encourage people to become less reliant on their private car.
“To do this we are investing significantly in cycling and walking routes as well as improving the infrastructure for bus travel so bus operators can provide a better and more efficient service for their customers.
“By investing in public transport and active travel we will provide a credible alternative to travelling by private car, which in turn has significant benefits, giving residents and visitors better and healthier options to travel around the city.
“The aim has to be to reduce congestion, significantly improve the air that we all breathe, while making Cardiff a better place to live and visit.”
