Charging will apply on Monday to Friday, from 9am to 6pm and there will be no charges on Sundays or Bank Holidays. There will continue to be no High Street parking on Saturdays when Lymington Charter Market is trading.
Approving the recommendations on 10 March 2022, Councillor Russell Oppenheimer, the County Council’s Executive Member for Highways Operations, commented: “While I note and can understand the local opposition to this change, I have also taken into account the results of the parking surveys.
“On balance, I believe the recommendations and proposals are key to the County Council’s plans to modernise the on-street parking service. Those who pay for parking tend to abide by the time restrictions they have paid for, moving on before expiry and, thereby, freeing up parking for other users. I agree that we need to manage increasing demand for on-street parking more efficiently and that we maintain this service without having to draw on highways maintenance funding.”
Four separate parking occupancy surveys, undertaken before and during the Covid-19 pandemic, identified that each day between 160 and 170 people parked on the High Street and ignored the one-hour maximum permitted stay.
The parking surveys also showed that around 70% of people parking in the high street do so for short stays of up to 30 minutes meaning that the vast majority of visitors using parking in the High Street will be unaffected by the proposed parking charges.
The changes to on-street parking on Lymington High Street are expected to be implemented in the next two to three months.
