THE cost of parking in the Forest of Dean will be going up by as much as 150 per cent next year, as part of a council drive to raise more than £100,000.

Parking in a council-owned space won’t be the only thing costing more - it will cost more to bury the dead, alongside a rise in the price of recycling garden waste.

The car park rise was approved by a meeting of the full Forest of Dean Council last Thursday (October 17) ahead of setting next year’s budget.

Parking for two hours in one of the eight council-owned car parks will rise from 20 pence to 50 pence, two to three hours from 60 pence to £1, three to four hours from 80 pence to £1.50 and all day from £1.60 to £2.

Season tickets will also be going up, from £10 to £20 for a month’s parking, £30 to £55 for three months, and £120 to £180 for a year.

The rises will be imposed by the cash-strapped council at Heywood Road car park in Cinderford, Newland Street and Railway Drive in Coleford, Bream Road and Newerne Street in Lydney, High Street in Mitcheldean, Lewell Street in Newent, and Riverside in Redbrook.

The increase from April 1, 2020, is expected to cost £2,000, but is predicted to earn the authority £65,120 in extra revenue.

Cemetery fees are also set to rise by five per cent, raising an extra £6,540, while garden waste collections from 19,000 properties across the Forest will rise £2 to £34, raising an anticipated £38,000.

Cabinet finance chief Cllr Bernie O’Neill (Lab, Ruspidge) said he had previously opposed a rise, but fees and charges had not been reviewed for several years and the extra cash was needed to cover the cost of running the service.

Councillors heard that although the rises were put forward with “a heavy heart”, the new parking charges were still lower than many other car parks, including the Forestry Commission’s charges.

Council leader Cllr Tim Gwilliam (Ind, Berry Hill) said: “The matter has not been looked at for five or six years and desperate times require desperate measures.”

But Cllr Di Martin (Lab, Cinderford East) told a meeting of the Independent Alliance Cabinet where the charges were first approved: “I am really saddened that this council have gone down this path.

“Saying that we have to be commercially driven indicates to me that we are not receiving enough funding from central government.

“Our group (Labour) were very vociferous in our opposition about car parking charges.”

Council deputy leader Cllr Paul Hiett (Ind, Bream) blamed the former Conservative administration for failing to review the future finances of the council effectively.

But Cllr Brian Robinson, current Conservative grouop leader, said: “We are not going to oppose this because we recommended it in the budget last time.

“If you followed our recommendations, this would be in the bank and we would be collecting it this year.”