CHARGES at some city council car parks are set to increase by as much as 25 per cent from April, as figures show fewer people are using them.

The council said it expected to make £700,000 less than it had hoped from its car parks during this financial year.

It also expects receipts will continue to fall, even though more people are visiting the city, many drawn by the revamped Westgate Centre.

Most city council car park fees will be frozen in 2019/20, but some charges at Gloucester Green, which has 105 spaces, and 200-space Worcester Street car park are set for hefty hikes.

Revenue has dropped significantly at Worcester Street and Oxpens car parks over the past year, the council said.

Drivers will soon need to shell out £11.50 for up to four hours on weekdays at both Gloucester Green and Worcester Street, which is an increase of £1.50 or 15 per cent.

A weekday stay of eight hours or more in Gloucester Green or Worcester Street car parks will cost £35 from next year, up 25 per cent from £28.

Other increases there will see hikes of 20 per cent – or £3 – to charges between four and six hours, with that stay set to cost £20.

Matt Peachey, the council’s economic development manager, conceded revenue from parking had been lower than hoped at a meeting with councillors earlier this month.

He said: “We found that footfall has been higher than expected and yet parking within the city centre has not actually been as high as expected.

“Bus travel increased by about 8.2 per cent in a six-month comparison from October to April in 2017 and 2018 so there’s a significant increase there. If you look at park-and-ride usage, there’s a definite increase.”

The city council said footfall has risen by 8.9 per cent since the Westgate Centre reopened and that many more people were now using public transport to get into Oxford.

The capacity of Oxpens car park – which has 420 spaces – will be cut by half when decking is moved to Redbridge Park and Ride in June. It will eventually become part of the Oxpens development.

Experts have said they expect it will take about three years for shopping habits in Oxford to settle.

At Westgate, the 1,000 parking spaces available now is a reduction on the 1,225 available before it was renovated.

Brendan Hattam, the centre’s general manager, said it was ‘quite telling that as the city has expanded the car parking spaces have reduced’.

At a scrutiny committee, he said: “We spent an awfully long time working with the bus companies and the city and the county [councils] on transport.”

He added an increase in bus and park-and-ride use was ‘great’ for the city.

Papers written by Nigel Kennedy, the city council’s head of financial services, state: “Car park income generally is expected to fall in the longer term as demand management is implemented.

“This is a risk to the council’s finances going forward and will require careful handling to mitigate risks in funding.”

Graham Jones, speaking on behalf of the Oxford High Street Association, said there were reasons for changes in shopping and visitor habits in the city.

He said: “High Street before the Westgate was the street with the most shops in it, far more than Cornmarket. I think there are two reasons for footfall (increasing): one is that Cornmarket is a major transit route and second one is the growth of restaurants and cafes.

“People eat – they don’t spend very much (and visit shops). It’s a national trend but I think it’s particularly true in Oxford.”

The council’s city executive board has agreed to look ‘in part’ at the impact of Westgate and recent changes on district centres in Oxford, including Cowley, Summertown and Headington.

Mary Clarkson, executive board member for board member for culture and city centre, said: “It would be useful to have this information, and to look at ways in which we can boost secondary shopping centres in the way we have supported Covered Market traders.

“However, it will be difficult to establish exactly what the impact of Westgate is on the shopping areas given that each is affected by a variety of different factors, such as roadworks and car parking which will be different in each area.”

High street giant Debenhams, based in George Street, has offered to pay shoppers’ car parking for as long as they stay for two hours and spend at least £50 in store.

The store’s manager Craig Shuttleworth said: “Parking woes have been at pressure point… we are delighted that we are able to do our bit to encourage shoppers to hit the high street right up until Christmas Eve.”

But Phil Southall, the Oxford Bus Company’s director, said it was creating a ‘perfect storm’ for traffic in the city in the run up to Christmas.