An extra 50p or £1 per stay in Bath council car parks on Christmas Market weekends, from 2027, not this year. Comment by 3 November, plus seven other changes.
Drivers using council car parks in Bath could pay extra on Christmas Market weekends. The council proposes an additional 50p per stay of up to four hours, and £1 for anything longer. It would not apply to this year’s market, which runs from 26 November to 13 December.
The surcharge is one of eight parking changes in a consultation Bath and North East Somerset Council opened on 6 October. The others include higher on-street charges for three years running, new pay and display on seven streets that are free to park on today, and parking controls that run until 10pm.
None of it is decided. The council says the feedback will inform its 2027/28 budget, and nothing would start before 2027/28.
The Christmas Market charge
The consultation’s proposals page sets it out as Proposal 5. It would apply on weekends during the market, in council car parks in Bath, on top of the normal tariff:
- 50p per parking transaction lasting up to four hours
- £1 per parking transaction lasting more than four hours
It is charged per transaction, not per hour. The council’s FAQ page says it would apply only on market weekends and only in council car parks in Bath, so car parks in Keynsham, Midsomer Norton and Radstock would not carry it.
The consultation does not list which Bath car parks count, and it does not say whether the three park and ride sites are covered.
Here is what it would add to the current lowest-band prices in the council’s own car parks, from our parking in Bath page:
| Stay | Lowest band now | With the surcharge | Where |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2 hours | £3.80 | £4.30 | Avon Street, Manvers Street and the short-stay car parks |
| 4 hours | £7.60 | £8.10 | All council car parks in Bath except Claverton Street |
| 24 hours | £19.70 | £20.70 | Charlotte Street, Avon Street, Manvers Street |
Higher emissions bands pay more today, up to £9.80 for four hours, and the same 50p or £1 would sit on top.
The other seven proposals
The council’s proposals page lists them in full:
- On-street pay and display up about 10% a year for three years. For the lowest emissions band that is about 30p, 40p or 50p an hour more in year one, rounded to the nearest 10p.
- A tighter lowest emissions band. Its upper limit would drop from 130g/km of carbon dioxide to 110g/km. Cars between 111g/km and 130g/km, and every band above, would pay 5% more.
- Pay and display on seven streets that are unrestricted now: Combe Park, Cow Lane, Park Lane, Newbridge Hill, Widcombe Hill, Bathwick Hill and Warminster Road.
- Residents’ Parking Zones and on-street pay and display running to 10pm every day in Bath.
- Double the permit charge for reserved spaces in five residents’ or business car parks: London Street and Bedford Street in Walcot, James Street West in Kingsmead, and Brougham Hayes and Southview Road in Westmoreland.
- Permits for reserved spaces at Church Road car park in Weston, which is uncontrolled today.
- Short-stay charges at Weymouth Street car park in Walcot. The council has not yet set the hours or the tariff.
Councillor Joel Hirst, Cabinet Member for Sustainable Transport Strategy, said the council has “to make the best use of the limited space we have on our streets, while ensuring that our parking policies and charges remain fair and effective for people who need to use a car”. His statement is in the council’s release.
Has the council backed down before?
Yes. The council’s consultation page names two recent climbdowns. It withdrew plans to charge on Saturdays at Bath Hill East car park in Keynsham, after residents and businesses raised footfall and affordability. It also dropped emissions-based charges for motorbikes.
The size-based residents’ permits that started on 25 August went ahead. We covered them in our permit story.
What happens next
The council’s next-steps page says the feedback goes into budget-setting this winter. Any proposal could go ahead, change, slip or be dropped. A consultation report would follow the budget decision.
Anything that needs a Traffic Regulation Order gets a second, formal consultation before it starts. The council’s timeline puts the earliest start for some proposals at summer 2027.
One thing to watch: that timeline page still shows the consultation running from 30 September to 28 October. The council’s release and the consultation’s front page both say 6 October to 5pm on 3 November. Respond before 28 October if you want to be safe.
What it means for you
- This Christmas is unaffected. Parking for the 2026 market costs the normal tariff.
- From 2027, a market weekend trip to a council car park could cost 50p more for a short visit or £1 more for a long one. Park and ride may be the cheaper choice; our Christmas Market page has the routes and last buses.
- If you live or park on one of the seven streets, free parking there could end. Those are the residents most worth responding.
- If you live in an RPZ, controls to 10pm would affect evening visitors.
- To respond, use the consultation site, email parking@bathnes.gov.uk or call 01225 477133. Libraries hold paper copies of the questionnaire. You can answer some proposals and skip others.
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