PEOPLE living in Barry and Penarth may have to pay to park outside their own homes.

Vale of Glamorgan Council is planning to introduce new charges to resident parking schemes in Barry and Penarth town centres which are currently free.

The charges, which would start at £10 for one car per year, would apply to new residential parking schemes and also to those already in place once residents’ current permits expire.

But councillors have urged the Conservative administration to drop the plans from a proposed parking strategy which is also proving controversial for its plans to charge to park in town centre car parks, country parks and on streets in Barry Island.

The council’s Corporate Performance and Resources Scrutiny Committee agreed on April 11 to ask the cabinet to make a number of changes to the policy, including keeping residents’ parking permits for their first cars free where schemes already exist.

Under the plan, residents parking permits would rise proportionately with each permit. For example, a family with three permits would pay £10 for the first car, £20 for the second vehicle and £30 for the third permit – a total of £60 per year.  Visitor permits would cost £20 and be limited to one for every house.

A council report on the proposals, put together with private firm Capita, says the parking schemes would deal with any displacement parking to residential streets caused by the new policy.

The report says: “Residents parking schemes aim to give priority to residents over commuters and shoppers during the daytime and into the evening over a five or six day week when problems with extraneous parking will be more prevalent and problematic.

“In determining the level of charge applicable the primary consideration has been the annual costs of administering the permit system as well as the initial set up costs for surveys, introducing revised traffic regulation orders and provision of on street infrastructure in the form of signage and road markings to implement each scheme.

“The level of charges could also act as a deterrent to excessive vehicle ownership in town centre areas. The costs for the proposed Resident Parking Schemes cannot be reasonably accommodated in the existing enforcement regime for any scheme to operate effectively.”

New charges could be introduced at the Vale of Glamorgan’s town centre car parks, coastal resorts, and country parks under the council’s policy.

On-street charges in Penarth Esplanade and Barry Island are included in the proposals. Winter discounts would be available at Penarth Esplanade but not at Barry Island.

Two cross-party committees have now shown their opposition to the parking charge plans after the environment and regeneration scrutiny committee heard concerns from traders and councillors last week.

The Corporate Performance and Resources Scrutiny Committee also asked the council’s ruling body to consider seasonal parking permits which cover a number of areas in the Vale, free parking at country parks before 10am, and opposed town centre parking charges.

Councillors on the committee also supported calls from traders to have up to two hours’ free on-street car parking in Barry Island, with no charges during the winter months.

Miles Punter, the council’s director of environment and housing, told the committee on April 11 the policy was not being proposed as a cash cow for the council.

He said environment and housing services have had £8m cut from its budget since 2015.

Mr Punter said: “Austerity is having a detrimental effect on front-line services. It’s affected councils in England and now it’s affecting councils in Wales.

“This is not a policy that is going to make the council vast amounts of money.”

Mr Punter said there “is no such thing as free car parking” and that it’s not a statutory service for the council.

He said: “There is a cost to car parking. The problem is if we don’t recover our costs future reports may recommend disposing of (car parks).”

Emma Reed, Vale of Glamorgan Council’s head of neighbourhood services and transport, said: “As part of the council’s parking policy, residents who would like parking permits will be asked on renewal to pay a small annual fee. This is for the administration, maintenance and implementation of parking permit schemes which is a discretionary service.

“It is currently proposed that one permit will cost £10, with an additional £20 for a second, an additional £30 for a third and proportional increases thereafter.

“These proposed fees are lower than the rates charged by other authorities for similar provision.”