East Hampshire District Council (EHDC) car park charges are set to increase by 10 per cent, following last week’s full council meeting.

The increase will come into force from January 1 next year and Petersfield car parks that will be affected include Castle Yard, Swan Street, Festival Hall, Central and Causeway.

During the meeting, Cllr Rob Mocatta for Petersfield Butser, said: “Talking to the residents and visitors of Petersfield, there is always tremendous opposition to any increase in parking charges.

“It is very difficult not to have enormous sympathy with the view that putting up parking charges hurts business. However, as a district council we have a real issue, we have to try and find ways of raising revenue to pay for other services we provide.”

The decision was approved with 25 in favour and 14 against. In addition to car park charges, there will be fee and charge adjustments to other select services.

Cllr Richard Millard, EHDC leader, said: “When we carried out our residents’ survey last year we explained that funding our services was becoming increasingly difficult, with less support from central government.

“In total, 53 per cent of residents said that we should fund our services by increasing fees and charges and keeping council tax the same.

“By aligning fees more closely with service use, we are safeguarding the sustainability of our services without passing on that cost to every resident.

“These adjustments will help the council maintain and enhance services while responsibly managing our budget in these challenging times.”