New car parking charges start in Swansea on Monday, April 17, and there will be a discount that is available to all residents of the city. Customers living in the area using the Mi Permit parking app will automatically have the lower rate applied. Those paying at a machine will be required to select the residents' tariff when they pay.
The increase in parking charges is the first to be introduced since 2014 and Swansea Council has said it has been doing all it can in recent years to keep parking costs low for motorists following the coronavirus pandemic and cost-of-living crisis. Previously, all-day parking for £2 was introduced to help boost the city's retail economy and support families in need as the city emerged from the pandemic.
Parking was also free across Swansea during lockdown to support essential workers. Park and Ride services in the city will remain unaffected by the price increases and will stay at £1 per car until at least 2024. Get Swansea stories straight to your inbox with our newsletter.
Swansea Council cabinet member for environment and infrastructure, Andrew Stevens, said: "In Swansea we have not increased parking charges for more than eight years, but although pressures are forcing a change this year we were determined to ensure any increase was kept as low as possible – particularly for anyone who lives in Swansea - which is why we are introducing the residents' discount scheme.
“We are also seeking to work up additional offers with Swansea BID for city centre parking and we hope to announce details of this shortly. During lockdown free parking was offered to key workers and following lockdown we decided on keeping parking charges extremely low to assist the city in getting back on its feet. Due to the pressures of the cost of living crisis on council budgets, there has been a need to re-shape and increase charges from April, but charges remain much lower than many other cities.”
WalesOnline has asked Swansea Council what is to stop people who are not residents still selecting the residents' parking tariff. We will update this article when we receive an answer.
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What you will need to pay to park in Swansea from April 17, 2023:
The charges proposed for Copr Bay South - the car park attached to Swansea Arena - and Copr Bay North, a new multi-storey car park on the building the other side of the yellow footbridge, include the following tariffs:
Current / New / Cost for residents
£1.40 for one hour / £3 / £2
£2.80 for two hours / £4.50 / £3.50
£4 for three hours / £6 / £4.50
£5.50 for four hours / £10 / £8
£7.70 for five hours / £15 / £12
The charges proposed for the Quadrant multi-storey car park include:
Current / New / Cost for residents
£1.40 for one hour / £2.50 / £2
£2.80 for two hours / £4 / £3.50
£4 for three hours / £5 / £4.50
£5.50 for four hours / £7 / £6.50
£7.70 for five hours / £9.50 / £9
The charges proposed for the High Street multi-storey car park include:
Current / New / Cost for residents
£50p for one hour / £1.50 / £1
£1 for two hours / £2.50 / £2
£3.50 for three hours / £3.50 / £3
£4.50 for four hours / £5.50 / £5
The charges proposed for city centre pay and display car parks include:
Current / New / Cost for residents
£1.20 for one hour / £2 / £1.50
£2.40 for two hours / £3.50 / £3
£3.50 for three hours / £4.50 / £4
£4.50 for four hours £5.50 £5
The charges proposed for beach and foreshore car parks include:
Current / New / Cost for residents
£1.50 for one hour / £2.50 / £2
£3 for two hours / £4.50 / £4
£4 for three hours / £5.50 / £5
The charges proposed for car parks in Mumbles include:
Current / New / Cost for residents
£1.50 for one hour / £2.50 / £2
£4 for three hours / £5.50 / £5
There would be a two-hour charge of £4 at Mumbles car parks for residents, but figures for current and proposed two-hour charges for non-residents weren't provided.
The new Blue Badge tariffs proposed for council car parks are:
Current / New / Cost for residents
70p for two hours / £3 / £1.50
£1.20 for four hours / £5 / £3
£2.40 for six hours / £8 / £4
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