New on-street parking charges for five Warwickshire towns plus fines for moving traffic offences form part of county council plans to raise almost £3 million per year from motorists.

Cash-strapped Warwickshire County Council has released its draft financial framework for the next five years which outlines a projected need to save or generate income totalling £95.4 million per year by 2030-31.

The county takes care of on-street parking, charging in Leamington, Warwick, Kenilworth, Stratford and Rugby but further pay and display areas are being considered "to address congestion and road safety concerns" in Alcester, Atherstone, Henley-on-Arden, Shipston-on-Stour and Southam from April 2028.

Revenue from the new locations is expected to hit £592,000 per year by 2030-31.

Annual on-street parking charge increases in the current locations apart from Rugby are set to be approved by deputy leader and portfolio holder for finance and property Cllr Stephen Shaw on Friday (12 December).

They are thought to be worth an extra £231,000 per year and it seems further rises could be planned with a similar additional increases in revenue anticipated for each of the four financial years that follow.

In addition, charging for evening and Sunday parking is being recommended from April 2027 with a view to making up £424,000 of the council's annual shortfall by 2030-31.

And the council is also looking at "taking on powers" that would result in penalty charge notices (PCNs) for violations of traffic restrictions such as banned turns, weight limits and no-traffic areas from April 2028.

While it says the objective is "to support the safe and efficient operation of the highway", that element is expected to yield £220,000 per year from 2030-31.

The ideas feature in a paper that councillors from all parties will consider in setting the budget for 2026-27 with the Reform UK group in charge at Shire Hall set to take the lead. 

All elements of the budget are political decisions, they don't have to accept or include all of the wide range of proposals but are legally obliged to balance the books.

That means anything omitted would have to be replaced by a saving or additional revenue stream from elsewhere, a tricky task given that the papers recommend hiking council tax by 4.99 per cent every year for the next five years as it is.

The council anticipates the combination of parking and traffic fine proposals would bring in an extra £2.936 million per year by 2030-31.

Plans to restructure local government mean Warwickshire should be under the control of a unitary or two unitary authorities by then. It remains to be seen whether the current county council would be granted 'continuing authority' status if one new county-wide council takes charge and how much influence this budget frameowrk would have on that new set-up.

In the meantime, the current on-street charges are due to go up by more than 10 per cent across Leamington, Warwick, Stratford and Kenilworth from April 2026.

Subject to Cllr Shaw's sign-off on Friday, a 15-minute roadside stay in a county-run bay will go up from 30p to 45p with half an hour up from 80p to 90p.

An hour is going up from £1.60 to £1.80, an hour-and-a-half goes from £2.40 to £2.70 and a two-hour stop will increase from £3.20 to £3.60.

Lower charges in Rugby are set to remain frozen in line with the cheaper off-street provision available in the area.