Country park parking charges

[RudeDudeToo]

I live in Hampshire and took DS 17mo to the local country park yesterday for a run around and a change of scene. The parking charges are ridiculous (imo). It is £2.50 for less than an hour and a fiver for two hours. All day is £9 which isn't too bad but for a quick visit I think a fiver is quite high. I know that it helps pay for the upkeep, staff etc but I'm genuinely quite surprised it was that much. Am I alone in my miserable thinking? It genuinely used to be around £1.50 for a couple of hours and £3 for all day. Granted that was a while ago but not that long ago... Or at least as far as I remember.

@DappledThings I wish Hampshire CC would do a county wide annual parking pass as I would definitely buy one. But currently they are park specific and £65 a park. Not worth it when DS is so little.

Access to council run outdoor space should be subsidised for everyone's benefit

It is, that's why in most cases entry is free. OP is complaining about the cost of parking. Car parks aren't cheap to build or maintain, so it seems reasonable that those the choose to use them should pay for them. Obviously parking will be free for those with mobility issues.

[quote RudeDudeToo]@DappledThings I wish Hampshire CC would do a county wide annual parking pass as I would definitely buy one. But currently they are park specific and £65 a park. Not worth it when DS is so little.[/quote]
That is massively expensive. I do think ours (Kent) is surprisingly generous but there's definitely room for somewhere in the middle.

We quite often go just for an hour or so to run round and get a coffee there. If it was as expensive as yours there's no way we would be doing that.

But how much would you be happy to pay to park at a shopping centre all day, or for a coffee in Starbucks??

Many country parks are charities. I bet it costs a lot more than we imagine to run one, keep loos clean, look after the environment, empty litter bins and dog poo bins, mow grass, fell trees, maintain paths, etc etc etc.

I don't begrudge paying to park there!

I agree with you OP. We live in Hampshire too and quite often take our grandchildren to RVCP. It's reasonably cheap for an hour but relatively expensive for 2 hours. I think they do it on purpose as they know most people will stay for over an hour. With a young child an hour barely gives you time to walk to the playground area and back (at toddler pace)

About 8 years ago I had a Hampshire pass (can’t remember the exact name). It gave access to all sort of Hampshire attractions and council car parks. It was brilliant for young families - such a shame they stopped it. Was obviously costing too much money.
I always thought it was a short sighted decision. I used to visit these places with friends and we’d spend a fortune in the cafes and gift shops. When the pass stopped, we visited much less frequently (and some of the places not at all) and so the council would have lost a lot of cafe/dope revenue.

Shop...not dope!! Though could have done with some of that in those days of entertaining small children

If you're in Hampshire there's the whole of the New Forest you can use and park in absolutely free of charge 🤷‍♀️

sandgrown we did Simon's Seat the other day

The New Forest is wonderful, but Hampshire is a big county and if you live near QECP it’s a trek to the NF.

Not unreasonable at all. Wait until your DC gets older and wants to go to Legoland. WARNING: Small mortgage required (parking, entry, food, queue jump pass, merchandise, photos...)

But the parks themselves are great. Isn't it just a different way of imposing an "entry fee"? Still cheaper than comparable attractions nearby, especially if there's more than one of you going.

I begrudge it as I’m already paying a fortune in Council tax for their services.

I would actually quite like our local council to increase council tax so that parking in the town centre could be free

That would mean that everyone, even people without cars, were subsidising a free perk for drivers. Councils are struggling to cover the cost of care homes and children’s services, shouldn’t that take priority over free parking?

@PinkPlantCase

I think it’s unfair to limit access to the countryside to those who can afford to pay for it.

It’s a lot of money and soon adds up. Most places with a big playground tend to have a small cafe aswell, I’d much rather them hike the prices of a coffee to pay for upkeep than limit access full stop.

If they can afford to pay to travel there, they can afford to pay for the parking.

Our country parks either don't charge for parking or it's a couple of pounds for the day.
They need to make money, ours charge for bird feed at the sanctuaries.

The new forest is lovely and I'd go for the day but not for a quick run around on a Sunday afternoon. It is over an hour away. There are plenty of places i could have gone but with a small child in tow it was easier (yes I'm obviously lazy and tight) to go somewhere I know iyswim. I'm happy to pay, I haven't said I wasn't happy to pay. I'm just surprised at the hike in price. The country park has had a makeover that is for certain and yes the charges do reflect it.

@Moonlaserbearwolf I had heard of the Hampshire pass and gutted it doesn't exist anymore. Sounds like it was well worth the money.

Also in Hants. If you're going to go often, why not get an annual parking pass. £60 for Lepe country park, presumably similar at the other ones?

It’s a fine balancing act to make sure it’s not cost prohibitive isn’t it.

Be careful if you pay for parking in the app. We did the other weekend in Kent but it registered the wrong car details and now we've got a £70 parking charge to deal with.