Parking a car in Brentwood is set to become more expensive in the new year – and evening parking will triple in cost.

Brentwood Borough Council said it wants to encourage more people to use the underused Coptfold Road multi-storey car park, instead of the oversubscribed surface car parks of Chatham Way and William Hunter Way car parks by offering more favourable rates.

The 30 minutes' free parking remains throughout the borough.

The increases due to come in are at Willian Hunter Way, which will be upped from £1-per-hour to £1.10, and a rise on the night charge.

However, Coptfold Road multi-storey will remain at £1, with all-day parking to be reduced from £8 to £6. 

The council said this is to provide workers, especially those in retail in Brentwood, with access to cheaper parking.

It will also be scrapping its £2 per night charge. Instead, if someone arrives at 7pm for six hours their charge will be £6.60.

Council leader Cllr Chris Hossack said he want to standardise parking fees over 24 hours so the night-time economy is levied at the same rate as day-time.  

But more work will be needed to mitigate those residents who have no on-street parking and primarily use council car parks. 

He said: “This is not aimed at penalising residents. This is aimed at, why differentiate between the day and night economy? 

“It is aimed very much at people who are coming to the high street whether day or night to use the facilities that are provided.” 

However, he accepted many residents could be affected, with the council saying it will examine how to support those who are. 

Cllr Hossack added the council is trying to get more people to use Coptfold Road and fewer in William Hunter Way, which has become typically used by season-ticket holders, meaning when people do come to the town they have nowhere to park. 

He said: “What we want to do is incentivise those people into using the multi-storey to free up William Hunter Way and Chatham Road, which we would see as prime parking.” 

The new charges, which are set to start on January 1, 2023, are predicted to raise £900,000 for the council.