Concerns have been raised over plans to introduce new parking charges for Cornwall Council car parks. The council is looking to put all 135 car parks that it operates and charges for into three new zones.

There are currently 120 different tariffs in place across council car parks and it is hoped that simplifying the system will improve it for motorists. Under the proposals, the three zones – A, B, and C – will classify car parks depending on the areas they are located and what they are used for.

This means that car parks in tourist hotspots will have higher charges whereas those which are used mainly by local residents will have lower rates. Under the changes, the council is looking to increase charges with the new highest one-hour parking rate being £2.20 in a Zone A car park.

The changes will also see car parks in Zone A having charges for those people parking in the evening at a flat rate of £2.50 from 6 pm to midnight. However, some car parks in Zone A will only have the higher charges in the summer and will switch to Zone B out of season.

Areas that will have Zone A car parks include Bude, Fowey, Hayle, Polzeath, Widemouth Bay, Marazion, Looe, Padstow, Perranporth, Polzeath, Port Isaac, Porthtowan, and Seaton. Areas in Zone B include Carbis Bay, Falmouth, Newquay, Penzance, and St Ives; whilst Zone C, the lowest zone, includes car parks in Launceston, Liskeard, Par, St Agnes, and Tintagel.

The proposed changes were considered by the council's economic growth and development overview and scrutiny committee when it met today. Some councillors were concerned about the impact they could have on their local area.

Nick Craker, Conservative councillor for Liskeard Central, said that one car park in Liskeard currently charges £1.70 for a full day but this would go up to £5.50 under the changes. He said that the car park was regularly used by people using the train from Liskeard and said it might discourage them from using public transport, which would go against the council's aims of increasing public transport use.

He said: "I am not convinced that this is the right approach to take to have three bands across the county. The Rapsons car park is currently £1.70 all day and will go up to £5.50 for a day.

"What is the impact of using public transport by making the car park four times more expensive to use? I am concerned that there are too many different anomalies that are going to have to be ironed out."

Zoe Hall, strategic parking manager at the council, said that if people using that particular car park purchased a season ticket from Just Park then it would not be £5.50 a day. "If you use Just Park and used it every day that would be £2.75 a day. It doesn't have to be £5.50 if you use the car park every day."

Cllr Craker was not convinced and said: "I think we are making a terrible mistake." He asked if councillors could have the rationale for why each car park had been placed in a particular zone but was told that would not be possible.

The new parking tariffs will now be subject to public consultation starting on January 19 and will also have to be approved by the council's Cabinet. If they are approved then they could be introduced on April 1, 2023.