Rises in car parking fees in Gwynedd should “target tourist areas and not impact local residents”, councillors have argued.

At a scrutiny committee on 12 September, councillors discussed parking service money-saving schemes to meet budget shortfalls.

“Looking at the remaining fees across the county, we feel it is reasonable and timely to increase the current fees to £4 for six hours and £8 for 12 hours,” a report had stated.

This could generate an extra £40,000 for Gwynedd council.

Increasing the cost of local and car park permits by £5 per annum, would bring in an extra £17,000. The annual permits – which would rise from £140 to £145 per year – allow users to park in any long-stay car park in the county.

A local permit allowing residents without a designated parking space to use a long-stay car park close to their home is set to rise from £70 to £75 per year.

Further cash saving bids for 2024/25 require “further consideration” but include extending parking enforcement hours at council short stay car parks, and an adjustment to long stay fee structures. The latter could see an extra £160,000 raised, while the former could make £78,000.

Parking fees, the meeting heard, had “fallen behind inflation” but increasing them by 40 per cent was considered “sufficient to address the expected inflation increase until the 2028-2029 financial year”.

Future fees would need to be increase 30-40 per cent, “but this would not need to be considered until 2028/29”, Cabinet Member for Environment Dafydd Meurig said.

Cllr Linda Morgan said she agreed with increases in tourist areas like Pen Y Gwyrd – but disagreed where rising costs would impact locals.

She was against changing enforcement hours to 9am-5pm, citing Dolgellau, where she said local people needed to park to access shops and services, after the loss of bus services.

Cllr Arwyn Herald Roberts also felt the council should “target tourist areas”. Cllr Dafydd Meurig “understood the principal” of looking at tourist areas.

Cllr Jina Gwerfai queried the rate for 24 hour overnight stays for campervans adding: “We should charge more for the tourists than locals.”

Cllr Meurig said: “I accept that it is not easy to consider an increase of 30 to 40 percent.

“The budget goes up in line with inflation, the fees are behind, and we will need eventually to catch up.”