Latest City Centre Parking Updates

(Removal of Late Afternoon and Sunday Tariffs)

The changes came into effect on 2nd April 2024.

The new tariffs help to balance parking demand with supply to minimise vehicles ‘cruising’ for a parking space, reducing congestion and cutting down on emissions contributing to the climate crisis and improving the health and wellbeing of Nottingham’s residents. 

After forecast patronage changes and transaction costs have been considered, there is expected to be an increase in revenue; this revenue is ringfenced by the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984 and will be reinvested to allow Nottingham City Council to continue to provide its residents with high quality, sustainable and innovative transport services. 

The Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984 states that surplus parking income must be reinvested into maintaining parking assets and then transport and highways infrastructure. The changes therefore support

 Nottingham’s high quality, comprehensive public transport system, which as a result of over a billion pounds of investment is recognised as one of the best outside of London, supporting over 80 million annual users. The system is an essential service for many residents, commuters and visitors to the city

In 2022/23, Nottingham City Council spent £76.632 million on Highways and Transport Services and over the last ten years the Council has spent over £712 million on these services to keep the city’s streets running as smoothly as possible.

The last time on-street tariffs were changed in Nottingham was January 2020, and the last time off-street tariffs were changed was May 2023. The proposed tariff changes remain in line with inflation since the most recent changes and will ensure that prices are in line with other transport options over the period.

It is important that the price point of parking does not discourage the use of alternative, more sustainable modes of transport such as walking, cycling and using public transport.

The tariff changes will create positive impacts including reduced congestion, support of sustainable transport methods and balancing demand with supply. However, Nottingham City Council recognises that private car usage is the only viable option for some people due to a variety of reasons. 

On-street tariffs have been frozen in Nottingham for the past three years during society’s adjustment to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and the demand and requirements of parking have evolved during this time. 
The city’s economic vibrancy is returning post-pandemic and this has created higher demand for available parking, leading to further congestion and queues for spaces. In order to effectively manage the supply and demand for parking, tariffs have been adjusted.

While alternative modes of transport are often more environmentally, economically and socially beneficial than private car usage, residents and visitors are free to choose their preferred mode of travel into the city centre and private car usage is the only viable and/or favoured option for some people due to a variety of reasons.

It is expected that some people will consider using other parking providers or alternative methods of transport as a result of the new tariffs, however potential patronage changes have been considered in our projected revenue calculations and are not expected to be excessive.

A review of transactions in these locations shows that very few customers utilise the “Up to 12 hours” tariff, so this tariff has been matched to the “Up to 24 hours” tariff to reflect demand.

Demand for both on-street and off-street parking spaces in the city centre fluctuates day to day, with our multi-storey car parks averaging up to 92% capacity at our busiest times. However, with economic vibrancy recently returning to Nottingham causing demand to rise, the tariff changes aim to prevent demand from exceeding supply to minimise customers spending time searching for available spaces.

Due to the complexities and local concerns in different cities, it is difficult to directly compare on-street and off-street parking prices across the UK. However, Nottingham continues to be comparatively well priced for city centre parking even after the tariff changes have been made.

Nottingham’s high-quality public transport system offers a viable alternative to private car use in many cases. Some short journeys do not need to be made by car and many could be easily walked or biked instead – saving you money, improving both your physical and mental health and helping to mitigate the climate emergency.

• Try walking – Nottingham’s walking routes keep you physically active from your doorstep
• Try cycling – Nottingham’s cycle routes connect lots of areas across the city, as well as providing easy access to many of the city’s sporting, arts, and leisure venues 
• Jump on an e-bike – download the Lime app and you will be there in a flash
• Switch to public transport – either pay by contactless and benefit from a great value daily cap on NET trams, NCT buses and Linkbuses, or get a Robin Hood card to save further
• For longer journeys, try the train – Nottingham Station offers rail connections across the UK and is integrated seamlessly with our tram and bus network.

For further information and advice about travel in Nottingham, please visit the Transport Nottingham website: www.transportnottingham.com

Blue Badge holders are still entitled to park free of charge in on-street pay and display parking bays, subject to the conditions of the Blue Badge scheme.

Blue Badge parking is not free of charge in our off-street car parks.

The new tariffs apply to electric vehicles as the tariffs are for parking and electric vehicles take up the same space as internal combustion engine vehicles.

The tariff changes have not affected permit parking. 
Information about the different permit schemes in operation in Nottingham can be found here:

• Parking Permits - Nottingham City Council

We invested in equipment where Parking Services can change the tariffs ourselves, so there have been no additional costs for this. The on-street pay and display machines have adaptable electronic displays and overlays have been used where possible on physical tariff boards to keep the costs down. Expected final spend on this project is therefore £500. 

The transaction costs and VAT will increase as these are a percentage of the total fee; these are variable costs and will only result from increased revenue and therefore have been factored into the projected income figure.

Contact the Parking Services team using the form below:

Parking Services Contact Form - Nottingham City Council

Further information about on and off-street parking in Nottingham can be found here: City Centre Parking - Nottingham City Council