Cheshire East says one reason it is hiking up parking charges is because the government has increased the national bus fare cap from £2 to £3.

The increases, which will see charges on some council-owned car parks rise by up to 30 per cent, come into force on May 26.

Evening charges and Sunday charges will also be introduced from the same date.

The controversial decision to hike up the charges for the second time in less than a year was taken by the council's highways officers, under delegated authority.

And one of the reasons given for their unpopular decision was because the government has increased the bus fare cap.

The officer decision report, which is published on the council's website, says: "In January 2025, government increased the national bus fare cap from £2 to £3 (an increase of 50 per cent), therefore an adjustment to parking charges is a practical measure to avoid further incentivising travel by private car with negative impacts on sustainability and congestion in our towns and villages."

The new charges come into effect from May 26 (Credit: MTC)

The report also lists other reasons and states the principle one being that tariffs in Cheshire East lag behind many comparator councils because there has only been a couple of fee increases in the past 15 years.

Sutton councillor Chris O'Leary (Con) was surprised by the bus charge argument and said the increased parking charges would have a greater impact on people living in rural areas, adding in the north of Cheshire East it would be cheaper for some residents to shop outside the borough.

"Many of our villages and rural communities have no public transport. For example my nearest bus stop is four miles away.

"To do this, further disadvantages villages and rural communities," Cllr O'Leary told the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

"But also, those villages and rural communities that do have bus routes, they often don't work on a Sunday, so this doesn't justify evening or Sunday charges.

"I also think, if you're in Disley it is now way cheaper to go to New Mills than it is to go to Disley car park and to shop in Disley.

"So, if you live in Disley you are going to go out of borough, you are going to travel further because it is way cheaper to do so."