Updates on parking charges and local survey results

UPDATE – 7 September 2026

Proposals on new parking charges from Somerset Council’s review have been published. Wiveliscombe car parks are recommended to be free for 1 hour with fees of £1.80 for 2 hours, £2.70 for 4 hours and £5.20 all day. Further provision is planned for business and residents parking, but details are still to be proposed. Fees for Milverton’s Fore Street car park are still to be determined. It is also suggested all three car parks should be considered for devolving to respective town and parish councils, although no terms are given.

For car parks that are currently free, including Milverton and Wiveliscombe, engagement with local councillors, businesses and other stakeholders is still planned. There is no specific timetable, but this could be undertaken later this year from October. Statutory public consultation for a Traffic Regulation Order would follow once full charging plans have been prepared and agreed. The local engagement planned could be the best opportunity to ensure the best arrangements possible for Milverton and Wiveliscombe. Our local input has already influenced what is proposed.

Proposals from the review were presented to Scrutiny Committee last week, where I sought further clarification on key points. Findings from the local survey had already been supplied to officers. At the meeting, I also highlighted survey findings that showed parking charges were not wanted here and concern over their impacts.

Parking charges already apply in most of Somerset Council’s car parks. The review proposes consistent tiers of fees throughout Somerset. Also new Sunday charges which it is proposed to start from the beginning of December where charges already apply, including in Dulverton, Minehead, Taunton and Wellington.

Following the scrutiny review, decisions on the latest proposals are to be taken by the Liberal Democrat Executive on 23 September. Originally, they decided to introduce new charges from October last year but delayed this to allow consultants to complete a review. However, they had already included the expected income in the council’s budget for 2026/27, which is now forecast to have a £1.5m hole due to the delay.

Survey findings

Strong views have emerged from my survey on Somerset Council proposals to introduce parking charges in local council car parks, which have long been free to use.

484 survey forms were returned. 430 from a survey open to all in the area and 54 from forms targeted at residential users of the three car parks in Milverton and Wiveliscombe.

73% of those completing the survey open to all used the car parks for shopping and other visits, 19% for parking when at home and 8% for parking when at work. Over 90% of those returning the targeted surveys used the car parks when at home.

Parking is limited in both Milverton and Wiveliscombe, with the council car parks usually close to capacity or often full, especially at busy times.

The survey gives a clear message that a large majority of car park users in Milverton and Wiveliscombe do not want to see parking charges introduced. Some say they could not afford to pay and many have indicated they would not do so. Instead, they will seek alternative methods of free parking, mostly on-street, which would add to congestion and existing parking problems. Many shoppers say they would go to shops elsewhere, unless free shopping spaces are provided. Permits would help some continue to use the car parks when at home or at work, but could not be afforded by all.

The big concerns are the impacts that parking charges in car parks would have on local shops and the chaos more on-street parking would bring to both Milverton and Wiveliscombe.

View (and download) survey report with full results.

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Summary of survey results

Findings from the survey include:

• Depending on their parking use, 75-95% of respondents say Somerset Council should cover the costs of council car parks, 30-60% say Milverton Parish Council or Wiveliscombe Town Council should cover the costs, and about 5-20% each say fees from residents and/or shopper/visitors should contribute.

• More than half of respondents said they would stop using the car parks if daily charges were introduced. Most say they would park on-street instead. This would exacerbate existing problems from current on-street parking, especially in central areas near the car parks.

• More than two-thirds of shoppers and visitors to Milverton and Wiveliscombe said they would stop and go somewhere elsewhere instead, including to shop at supermarkets where parking is free.

• Some suggest parking fees in car parks would make it easier to find spaces when visiting for shopping, but many more say they will go elsewhere to shop instead. Loss of trade from shoppers going elsewhere could lead to shop and business closures, and have a devastating impact on Wiveliscombe town centre.

• Providing time restricted free parking spaces for short visits (up to 30 minutes or, better, one hour) would help in retaining use of Milverton and Wiveliscombe car parks for shopping and other short visits.

• It would be difficult for some car park users to avoid fees if charging were introduced, especially those who need to drive to work in Wiveliscombe and those in Milverton and Wiveliscombe who have no parking at their homes. A number have low incomes and would be unable to afford parking charges. They are likely to park on-street if they can, but, otherwise, could have to leave their current homes or jobs or to give up their cars.

• Permits for nearby residents and workers parking could help about half of these users to continue using the car parks, providing costs were not too high (up to £200-250 per annum). Help from permits was highest for Fore Street car park (about 60%) and lowest for North Street car park (about 40%). But some said they could not afford the cost of permits that already apply in other areas, such as Dulverton and Wellington. Permits may need to be free or have low costs to be affordable for all. A few said residential parking permits should cost no more £100 per year. If introduced, careful controls may be needed on the number of permits issued, with enough for local residents and workers.

• More disabled parking spaces are needed.

335 respondents (69% of the total) submitted comments which give a good picture of the concerns held by many. These comments include:

WIVELISCOMBE

• I cannot afford to pay a daily charge to collect my children from nursery/shop. Wiveliscombe parking is already crazy with many parking on double yellows anywhere they want. I use the carpark because it’s normally the only option for out of town people like me, and the safest for collecting my children.

• If these car parks become chargeable then street parking will become a nightmare for residents who live in Wiveliscombe.

• We also desperately need disabled parking in the centre for those with mobility issues who cannot climb the steps from Croft car park to the shops.

• By allowing charges to use these car parks, people will simply stop using the local shops and businesses to get their local produce … A change even as simple as this may ruin our little community.

• I fear parking charges will dissuade shoppers from visiting Wiveliscombe. We need to support our local trade retailers.

• We have been lucky to have had free parking over the years but people have arranged their lives around that fact and imposing charges will be very unpopular. Please don’t do it.

• We have free car parks in Wivey which I believe directly affects how much people use our local shops and facilities. Also we have problems with residential parking and need more public parking to address this.

• Many low-earning residents in flats in and around the square have no other option than to park in the free car parks as they have no allocated parking of their own.

• I’m on minimum wage, some weeks I only earn £140 so to find £25 for a weekly permit is ridiculous.

• Wiveliscombe does not have the infrastructure to cope with the amount of cars, especially with the new builds happening.

• Lots of people pop in daily for a newspaper or a few groceries. If you add £1 to that shop they would inevitably go elsewhere or come far less often.

• As a shop owner, we would certainly loose trade if our customers had to pay for parking. Business is tight anyway, parking charges could squeeze us too much.

• If charging for car parks was introduced people would park on the roads which are already crowded due to the general lack of parking in the town.

• Wiveliscombe was created long before cars were invented, and does not have infrastructure to support off road parking for dwellings around the centre of town.

• Bringing in car park charges will only result in people parking on the street and causing friction in the community.

• Wivey residents don’t have alternative options. Parking fees are not affordable for the average person.

• Maybe a monthly £10 fee and a car sticker for residents at the very most.  People will just shop in town where it is free like Aldi or Tesco and it will kill the shops in Wivey.

MILVERTON

• I will not pay to park at home which is what this charge is effectively doing. All this will do is cause more pressure on the already narrow streets.

• Village streets are narrow, parking and access is already an issue.

• It is unreasonable to expect residents to pay parking charges simply to park in the village where they live, particularly in a small rural community where there are little to no realistic alternatives.

• I am a pensioner and do not have spare financial capacity to fund car parking when I am at home.

• Parking is so different in the village that this proposal would cause further problems and only really suit those most able to pay.

• This scheme would cost more than it would generate.

• Milverton is too small to be charging.