Car parking tariffs to increase by 20p for short stay in Bury St Edmunds

26 Mar 2025

The price for parking in Bury St Edmunds town centre is set to increase from 12 May by 20p in short stay car parks, and 50p in Ram Meadow.

West Suffolk Council has said the income will pay for associated costs which include over £1m in business rates that it has to pay for the car parks, and a continuing programme of maintenance and improvements that has seen more than £2.2million invested in car parks over the past four years. As well as this, car parking income also helps pay for other work that supports the safety and success of the town centre including street cleaning and CCTV.

That in turn means West Suffolk can keep Council Tax as low as possible. Currently a Band D taxpayer pays around £200 a year to West Suffolk Council. Council Tax makes up less than a fifth of what it costs West Suffolk to deliver services which include:

• emptying more than 100,000 household bins each week
• cutting grass on more than 500 hectares of public open spaces across West Suffolk
• collecting over 2,400 tonnes of litter per year through our litter and dog bin collections, street cleaning and litter picking, removal of fly tipping and support of community litter picks
• managing parks and improving play areas
• maintaining leisure centres and supporting cultural services
• investing in and working alongside partners to support local economic growth
• running markets to support town centres and social wellbeing
• preventing and lifting households out of homelessness
• supporting Thriving Communities through work that benefits resident’s health and wellbeing. This includes work with community groups, charities, and voluntary organisations.
• promoting public safety through the safe and responsible licensing of taxis, pubs, clubs and other premises as well as building control and emergency planning
• running elections and promoting electoral registration
• working to protect heritage
• managing how and where housing growth can and can’t happen through the creation of a local plan and ensuring national and local planning policies are met in planning applications.

Much of the rest of its income is through fees, charges and investments.

Car parking is also the way that people who live outside the district contribute to the cost of the town centre.

West Suffolk Council is continuing to invest in Bury St Edmunds town centre not least through a range of markets events, The Abbey Gardens, The Apex, Moyse’s Hall Museum, and its work with Our Bury St Edmunds and other town centre partners.

Cllr David Taylor, Cabinet Member for Operations at West Suffolk Council, said: “Car parking tariffs are used to manage the turnover of spaces to ensure that shoppers and visitors can find a convenient place to park close to the town centre, and to ensure there is sufficient availability of spaces for people who want or need to stay for longer including town centre workers.

“It is important that we manage our car parks through tariffs to maintain the balance of short and long stay spaces which are so vital to supporting the town centre and our strategic priority for sustainable growth.

“This income will also support works including the replacement of ticket machines to improve their reliability, £60,000 of improvements to the Bury Leisure Centre car park in 2025-26 and around £300,000 of major works to the arc underground car park which we are looking to schedule in 2026-27.”

The tariff increases are now subject to a variation notice which runs to Friday 18 April 2025, during which people may make comment by emailing parking@westsuffolk.gov.uk or writing to West Suffolk Council, Admin Office Level 6, Parkway Multi-Storey Car Park, Parkway, Bury St Edmunds IP33 3BA.

The council is also ending its subsidy of a 20p admin charge for people using RingGo in West Suffolk Council car parks. From 1 April 2025 customers choosing to pay using RingGo will incur a 20p convenience charge.

“Apps are just one method of payment in our car parks,” said Cllr Taylor. “This 20p admin charge was being underwritten by taxpayers to the tune of £200,000 a year. It is down to those using our car parks to decide if they want to pay the extra 20p and use the app for convenience or pay by card or coin.

“This is part of our constant review to ensure the best value for money for the residents we represent and for people who park in our car parks and the on-street parking areas that we manage. It is also in preparation for seeking to join a National Parking Platform which will provide a single gateway app for users across the nation which only operates on a user pays basis.”

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