PARKING charges will be introduced at several car parks in Carmarthenshire where you can currently leave your car for free, despite a petition signed by nearly 2,000 people.
Cabinet members have decided to implement the charges from 2025-26 at nine car parks in Kidwelly, Burry Port, Llansteffan, Ferryside, Llanelli and Llanybydder.
They said the move would bring the car parks in line with others in towns like Llandeilo, Newcastle Emlyn and St Clears, and that the charges compared favourably with car parks owned by neighbouring authorities.
A report before cabinet added that if all parking at council car parks was free, services would have to be cut or council tax increased to offset the costs of maintaining and paying business rates for them.
Cllr Edward Thomas, cabinet member for transport, waste and infrastructure services, said: “The proposed charges are designed to offset these costs while remaining competitive with other neighbouring authorities.”
A petition opposing charges at five car parks in Kidwelly, Burry Port and Ferryside had been presented at full council in April and signed by 1,961 people. The charges would, it said, discourage tourism, harm the local economy, and increase on-street parking and congestion nearby.
The cabinet report said there was already a significant amount of free on-street parking of various time limits as well as unrestricted on-street parking available in all the locations served by the car parks. In Burry Port, it said, there were around 20 spaces where you can park for free for up to 30 minutes between 8am and 6pm.
It added that Welsh Government funding to support free parking schemes had ended in 2022, and that parking charges could encourage people to walk or cycle instead.
The report said other options were considered but recommended that cabinet proceeded as planned. The proposed charges of £1.10 for one hour, £1.20 for two hours and £2 all day were a lot lower, it said, than three car parks it cited as comparisons in Mumbles, Swansea, Tenby, Pembrokeshire, and New Quay, Ceredigion.
Speaking after the meeting, Kidwelly and St Ishmael councillor Crish Davies said she believed the decision would be detrimental for the town. “I think it’s a really short-sighted thing to do,” she said. “There are a few small businesses setting up here now and bringing hope.”
She said she acknowledged the trade-offs if parking was to continue to be free and added that the council was “investing somewhat in our towns”. But she said: “This decision is going to counteract all that.”
Writing on Facebook before the cabinet meeting, Burry Port councillor John James said the recommendation to charge was extremely disappointing. According to Cllr James parking has been free to date because the railway bridge leading to Station Road, Burry Port, wasn’t strong enough for buses and that this hadn’t been mentioned in the report.
During the meeting Cllr Thomas said he acknowledged the concerns of petitioners. He added that land ownership arrangements in Burry Port needed resolving. The council said it will monitor and evaluate the impacts of the charges, which will require parking machines to be installed, and enforce nearby on-street waiting restrictions.
Cllr Thomas told the Local Democracy Reporting Service that he estimated that the charges would take effect “within the next few months”.
