Parking charges coming to West Northants car parks?
24/12/2025
The charges would only apply in Brackley when the town’s new long stay car park opens
by Nadia Lincoln, Local Democracy Reporter
Frustrated residents and local politicians have come together to demand West Northants Council (WNC) rethink its plans to introduce parking charges in market towns, after traders warned the move could “sign the death knell” for their high streets.
As part of the 2026/27 draft budget proposals, which were approved by the Reform UK cabinet on Monday (December 22), charges could be introduced for the first time in Brackley, Daventry and Towcester.
Petitions were presented by the two Conservative MPs at the meeting, which saw more than 8,500 signatories call for WNC to ditch the parking charges plans. However, it failed to persuade the cabinet to reverse the new fees at this stage, and plans will now go out to public consultation.
If approved in the final budget next year, visitors can expect to pay from 50p for 30 minutes of parking to £5.50 for up to five hours. This is a slight discount on the proposed 2026/27 fees for band A car parks in Northampton, which would charge 70p for up to 30 minutes and £7 for up to five hours.
The MP for South Northamptonshire, Sarah Bool, said over 2,000 people had signed her petition to scrap the parking fees, warning of the knock-on effects it would have on shoppers, businesses and disincentivising volunteers.
She said: “Let me start with a quote from the leader of Reform’s election literature. It says they will ‘improve scrutiny, help cut council waste and most importantly challenge how your money is spent’. With this proposed budget, the only challenge is to residents’ money.
“Furthermore, in an attempt to avoid the charges, I suspect we will see that residential streets will become the new parking spaces and we’ll be clogging up the side roads.
“This Reform council should be doing all they can to support high streets, especially with Labour’s assault on businesses. Towcester was granted a market charter in 1194 and from this day became an important market town which has thrived, but this is now at grave risk.”
Daventry MP Stuart Andrew also attended, stating that he was speaking on behalf of the 6,500 people who signed his petition.
He told the chamber: “The town centre doesn’t just serve the people of Daventry, there are countless villages in the rural areas that depend on the shops in the town. They do not have the luxury of regular, reliable public transport.
“As I suspect, we will see a drop in footfall in the high streets and I worry therefore about the viability of those businesses and losing income for the council through a lack of business rates.
“Given that the parking income also is not that significant, it seems a retrograde step for very little in return. I’d urge the council to rule out these charges now so [traders] can concentrate on building up their custom in these last few days before Christmas.”
‘Will the last person on the high street please turn off the lights’
Speaking at the meeting, Dawn Branigan, an independent retailer on Daventry high street, said: “Daventry has largely managed to buck the trend of the death of the high street. Parking availability and affordability are critical factors.
“The introduction of parking charges would effectively sign the death knell for Daventry. If shoppers perceive visiting Daventry as inconvenient or costly, they’ll most likely go to out-of-town shopping centres with free parking.
“Independent businesses and cafes provide a social service to the community, building friendships and reducing isolation. If these charges are introduced, will the last person on the high street please turn off the lights?”
Cllr Martin Johns from Towcester Town Council also spoke in objection: “Across the board, I hear the same story – deep anxiety about the damaging impact of your proposals. They’re worried for their own livelihoods, their staff and the very future of our town centre.
“Local traders are already struggling to keep their doors open in a challenging climate. Your proposals fail to grasp the essence of market towns. We don’t have transport links like bigger towns or flagship stores, but we do have to compete with them.
“Our community is counting on you to keep Towcester vibrant and thriving. Scrap this parking tax. We’re not asking for millions like your projects in Northampton, we’re asking for you to protect the one clear advantage our market town still has.”
A total of 15 car parks will be affected in Daventry, including: Brook Street, Chapel Lane, Chaucer Way, Eastern Way, Golding Close, High Street, Lodge Road, Lodge Road Upper, Old Gas Works, Primrose Hill, St James Square, St Johns Square, The Doubles, The Hollow, and Welton Road Undercroft.
The new fees would also apply to the Richmond Road, Sponne Arcade, Tove Short Stay, and Tove Long Stay car parks in Towcester, as well as a proposed future long stay car park in Brackley.
New parking charges in market towns would bring ‘a fairness’
Following the criticisms of the proposals, WNC’s finance cabinet member, Cllr John Slope, replied: “The reasons that we’re looking at parking charges is a fairness – why should the rest of West Northants subsidise Towcester and Daventry’s free parking?
“Our surveys show that charges actually improve turnover, which increases footfall for businesses. The other thing is if you try and park in Towcester for more than three hours you can’t park for more than three hours without getting a ticket.
“These [measures] are all going to go back for consultation and I’d just encourage people that don’t feel the parking charges are fair, mainly for people coming from those particular towns that would be hit by them, that they put alternatives up that we should look at.
“Should there be some free parking time period, half an hour to an hour, before the parking kicks in? The consultation starts tomorrow, it doesn’t finish tonight.
“If there are alternative approaches that achieve the same outcomes, we will consider them.”
Earlier in the evening, the cabinet also approved an in-year £475k capital budget for automatic number plate recognition (ANPR) and other parking equipment. Cllr Slope said this would not be prejudging the decision on parking charges proposals in next year’s budget, but ensuring the authority is “operationally ready” to install machinery for April 2026 if needed.
The public consultation on the draft budget will run for six weeks until February 3, 2026. The final budget plans for 2026/27 will then be debated and go to full council for approval later that month.
You can share your feedback on the draft 2026/27 budget by clicking on this link here.
Published: by the Banbury FM News Team
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