Swansea car parking daily charge rises from £2 to £17

The cost to park in one city car park has risen from £2 a day to £17, with businesses saying they have now seen a "significant drop" since prices rose.

Swansea council raised prices across the city last week after cutting them during the pandemic.

But one business owner said customers were telling them they "can't see a reason to come".

The council said it was holding discussions with local businesses in order to support them.

Officials decided the new prices in January, saying they reflected parking prices in other cities in Wales.

It means the daily rate for the Quadrant car park has gone from £2 to £17, or £16.50 for who live in the city.

In Copper Bay car park, the rate has gone from £1.40 an hour to £3 for visitors or £2 residents.

High Street car park prices were 50p an hour but are now £1.50 or £1 for residents.

The fee to park all day at the St David's car park is currently £8.00.

Janet Jones, who runs Siop Ty Tawe, said: "At one time you could park for an hour across the road for free, and that was perfect for us because people can just come in and buy a card.

"But now they have to pay £2 for an hour, it has had an effect on the shop and on the number of people who come here.

"Some are already saying they can't see a reason to come if they have to pay a lot to park."

The council defended the price rises, saying they took into account the huge financial pressure it faced when agreeing budgets, and it had not changed prices since 2014.

But following criticism, it agreed to introduce a new tariff of £1 an hour for up to three hours, after which time the cost reverts to the new tariffs.

Della Thomas, who owns the Mair Harries stall in Swansea market, said people would now only visit the shops for an hour before leaving.

"People won't come into town, we can see it happening already. But if people come in, they come in and leave quickly, they don't stay in town.

"This doesn't just affect us, but businesses like cafes and similar places are struggling."

As part of the council's plans, park and ride prices will remain at £1 for the day.

But people who need to drive into Swansea are adamant the new prices are too high.

"I've just paid £2 for an hour and I'm already worried about staying too long", said Heidi Prosser.

"It is definitely going to stop me coming in to the city.

"They must consider lowering the prices while we are in the middle of a cost of living crisis, it's too much, it really is too much."

A council spokesman said: "Alongside the parking offers available, the council has regularly provided free bus travel for everyone in Swansea during school holidays and is the only council in Wales to do so.

"The recently-announced parking charges for city centre car parks in Swansea make us cheaper than many other cities across the country."

He added that the £2 rate initially introduced during Covid was possible because of government support, but the council chose to continue with this for 12 months after the funding ended, at a cost of £2.1m.