Somerset Council has published proposals to increase car parking charges in Cheddar's Church Street (Sainsbury's) and Cliff Street car parks, designating them as Tier 3 and Tier 2 respectively.
The proposals amount to the following:-
| Car park | Existing tariff | Proposed tariff |
| Church Street | £0.90 - 1 hour £1.60 - 2 hours £2.90 - 4 hours £4.60 - All day | £1.30 - 1 hour £2.10 - 2 hours £3.50 - 4 hours £6.80 - All day |
| Cliff Street | £1.00 - 1 hour £1.90 - 2 hours £4.10 - 4 hours £6.40 - All day | £1.50 - 1 hour £2.70 - 2 hours £4.40 - 4 hours £8.90 - All day |
The changes are part of a county-wide plan that will see increased parking charges in many of Somerset's towns and villages (some an increase of more than 300%), as well as new Sunday parking charges.
Local council campaigner Graham Godwin-Pearson asked about the proposals at the July Executive meeting in Taunton, highlighting the fact that there is little evidence that increasing parking charges brings in more revenue, as higher costs put additional pressure on nearby residential streets and can deter visitors altogether.
Graham, who plans to stand as the Conservative candidate in May 2027, says, "Local businesses in Cheddar are already under a great deal of pressure and increasing parking charges will not benefit them. In an ideal world, there would be alternatives, but with scant public transport in the Cheddar Valley, many people have no choice but to use their cars to get into the village.
"Any decision like this - especially when the council has spent hundreds of thousands on consultants' reports - must be to benefit local residents and businesses, and not just a fundraising exercise to plug holes in the council's finances."
Somerset Conservatives have set up a petition to stop the parking charge increases. You can find and sign that petition here:-
Stop the parking hike
Church Street and Cliff Street are currently the only locations being considered as part of this parking review. Axbridge Square, the business park in Cheddar and other locations are being looked-at separately.
You can download all of the documents that have been made available to the public below.
