Replacement of the car parking machines

Overview

We currently operate nine car parks with pay-and-display machines and an option to pay on the PayByPhone app.

We have not increased car parking charges this year. Instead we have allocated funding to replace all the existing pay‑and‑display machines across our nine car parks.

The current machines are unreliable, expensive to maintain, and no longer support modern payment technology. As part of this upgrade, we must decide which payment options should be available in the future.

Due to them currently holding cash, the machines are also targets for theft and vandalism, which leads to further downtime and expensive repairs.

Why your views matter

Before making any decisions, we want to understand how you currently use the car parks, how you prefer to pay for parking, and what matters most to you.

As with any choice, we must consider the costs and benefits of the available options, and your feedback will play an important role in guiding the selection of new machines for the future of car parking.

What happens next

Following the consultation, we will consider the feedback and expect to take a decision during the Spring/early Summer 2026. Once a decision has been made, we will need to go out to market to procure the new machines and agree timescales for implementation.