Council confirm plans to increase charges at Omagh car park

CAR parks across the Fermanagh and Omagh District Council (FODC) area will see the current three-hour stay policy scrapped in favour of an hourly pay system, raising concerns about the potential impact on town centre businesses and customer footfall.

Currently, the car park at New Brighton Place in Omagh offers a reduced fee of 40p for three hours. However, FODC has passed a motion to replace this with an hourly charge of 40p, meaning motorists will now pay £1.20 for three hours from April 1.

At the council’s environmental services committee meeting last week, FODC committee director John News explained that the changes were made to align with a policy which lapsed over Covid.

Mr News outlined that there are currently three active tariffs: TS4, which is 40p per three hours; TL4, which is 40p per hour; and TL5, which is 50p per hour.

“The 2018-2023 strategy recommended that the tariff at New Brighton Place should be upgraded to TF4, but due to Covid, that change was not implemented,” he said. “This increase in income will support other council priorities and projects in the council estate over the financial year.”

Despite the increase, Mr News said that FODC retains the lowest car parking charges in Northern Ireland.

“The TS4 tariff is the cheapest anywhere in Northern Ireland when benchmarked against other council districts. Some areas east of the Bann have rates of 70p to 80p per hour, whereas premium parking in Enniskillen is 50p per hour,” he stated.

However, Cllr Roy Crawford of the UUP raised concerns that the new tariffs could negatively impact town centre businesses.

“Raising parking charges can reduce customer footfall, impact local sales, push shoppers to out-of-town shopping centres or online shopping, and increase costs for employees.

“This may lead to a decline in town centre trade, which is my concern at this stage,” he said.

Sinn Fein’s Dermot Browne emphasised the need for better communication between the council, the public and local businesses.

“I broadly agree with the need to regularise car parking charges rather than having different rates and times that can be confusing. However, communication is crucial. People can accept small changes when there is clear engagement between the council, businesses, and shoppers. We must ensure that people have enough time to adjust.”

After the hearing, the motion was proposed by Cllr Debbie Coyle and seconded by Cllr Dermot Browne.