Ceredigion council rakes in £1,500 a day from Aberystwyth prom parking charges

Ceredigion County Council raked in more than £1,500 a day in July from charging to park on Aberystwyth promenade.

In a financial report set to go before the council’s Thriving Communities Overview and Scrutiny Committee on 15 September, figures reveal that since the new charges were launched on 18 May, the council made £90,614 in the first 70 days of operation to 26 July, with an average of just over £1,294 a day.

The report adds that since 1 July, as summer hit peak season, the average daily income was £1,554, while almost 22,000 transactions to park on Aberystwyth promenade were made during that period.

Ceredigion County Council’s Plaid Cymru Cabinet voted to go ahead with plans to charge for parking on the prom last January.

A consultation on the plan drew 106 objections with vehement opposition from residents and businesses.

The changes saw 179 car parking spaces become chargeable along the length of New Promenade between 8am and 8pm, seven days a week.

The rates are £3.50 for two hours, and £5 for four hours.

Initially the implementation of the parking meters was expected to be in place by last Christmas, but delays in delivery and installation of payment machines meant that the council hoped to have the charges in place by Easter.

That start date was also missed, before eventually going live on 18 May.

Before the changes residents and visitors could park on the promenade for between two and four hours for free, depending where on the seafront they park.

Start-up costs, including new ticket machines, signs, and bay painting were estimated at around £150,000, along with increased staff costs.

The report highlights that the highest amount of income received in a single day was £1,981 on 15 July, while 21,988 individual payment transactions have been made, with an average transaction value of £4.12.

28 per cent of payments were via mobile payment with 72 per cent being via the physical machines.

58 per cent of payments were for two hour tickets and 42 per cent for four hour tickets.

Ceredigion County Council had earmarked on income forecast for the 2026/27 financial year of £400,000 from charging to park on Aberystwyth promenade.

Delays meant that charging only begin in May, and the report said “it remains to be seen how space occupancy will fare during the winter months” in a bid to meet the forecast.

Objections received during a consultation on the plans said the move will “drive people out of town” and called the plan “completely and utterly unnecessary.”

The county council’s own report into the plans warned there would be “considerable opposition” from residents and business owners and could discourage visitors, but said the charges would “act as a deterrent to commuter and long-term parking related traffic from circulating the seafront in search of available free spaces.”

Ceredigion County Council said that money raised from the new parking charges will “help meet the ongoing costs of managing and maintaining parking assets and support highways and transport services across the county.”