CHARGES at an under-used Poole car park are set to be cut in half in a bid to make it more attractive to motorists.

Tariffs at Harbourside 2 car park will go from current levels at 80p for one hour, rising to £9.30 for up to 12 hours, to just 40p for an hour, with a maximum tariff of £4.60 for 12 hours parking.

The changes were approved by councillors at the Transport Advisory Group (TAG) on Thursday, January 8 and will be implemented in the next financial year.

After a year’s trial they will be referred back to TAG to consider if they will be made permanent or not.

A report before the group said peak occupancy at the 244-space car park at Catalina Drive, alongside Baiter Park, was surveyed to be just 32 vehicles on a sunny weekend.

The car park currently generates £8,000 annual income.

The plans also include moving coach parking from Seldown Car Park to the Harbourside 2 car park in the area furthest away from residential properties.

Permit costs to rise

Increases to some parking permit and season ticket charges have been agreed by councillors in Poole.

The new charges, set to be introduced in the next financial year, came before the Transport Advisory Group on January 8.

They include resident daily visitors’ permits, which will be £10 for a book of five, up from £7.50, and commuter daily passes, set to be £10 for five, up from £8.

Also going up are small trader annual passes from £105 to £125.

Daily waiver permits, aimed at tradespersons who need to have access to their vehicles whilst carrying out work at properties where parking is restricted and annual healthcare permits for health professionals will go up from £5 each currently, to £6.

Several car park season tickets are set to rise, including the town centre quarterly permit, going up £20 to £250, and resident beach annual permits from £83 to £85.