Wirral Council earned nearly £170,000 from new parking fees at its beautiful green spaces, it’s been revealed.

Twelve months on from the controversial charges being introduced at country parks, a council review into the scheme has uncovered the impact on communities and businesses – as well as how much money has been taken.

Users of Wirral Country Park and Royden Country Park in Thurstaston, Eastham Country Park and Arrowe Country Park have been paying the charges since January 22, 2018, meaning a fee of 50p for an hour, £1 for two hours, £2 for over two hours and £50 for an annual permit.

The fees were rolled out last year despite protests and a reported 16,000 signatures in opposition.

Next week, councillors of Wirral’s business overview and scrutiny committee will discuss a report explaining how the first year has been – as well as what impact charges have had on local businesses and visitor numbers.

In terms of income received, the council said a total of £168,000 had been raised so far from both the meters and annual permits.

The most money – around £60,000 – was collected at Wirral Country Park. Royden Country Park was second with just under £50,000, while Eastham Country Park accounted for £23,000 of the total. Arrowe Country Park collected over £8,000 in that time.

£27,000 of the income came from permits.

The report also said that since the start of last year, £100,000 has been spent on maintenance and improvements at the parks on jobs such as resurfacing.

Aside from the income, these are the other key points from the report:

1. Several of the business owners told the council income is down by as much as 20%, with businesses in August having said that the charges were “killing” their profits. Some even said they feared being forced to close if the situation worsened.

2. In Eastham, even more drivers are leaving their cars on Ferry Road and Torr Drive, with some parking on the pavements to avoid paying.

3. The manager of The Tap pub has been forced to introduce bollards to stop park users leaving their vehicles on private land.

4. The volume of motorcyclists visiting Eastham – known for its popularity with bikers – has reduced due to a lack of spaces in the area.

5. The report said there had been several “incidents” of vandalism to the machines at Royden Park and Arrowe Park. The machine at Arrowe Park was “severely vandalised” when it was set on fire in October, and the document added that it had “taken longer to repair” so has not been working. The car park is currently being resurfaced and when that job is complete, the pay machine will be fully operational once more.

6. The report also said the charges may be having an affect on the numbers of people who join the parks’ friends and volunteer groups.

7. It also mentioned an “accident” in Eastham – believed to be the fatal road crash in June, in which boxer Brad Taylor was killed while driving a motorcycle at the junction between Ferry Road and Torr Road. Police are still investigating the incident, but the report said council officers are considering laying down yellow lines or bollards at the junction. It added that there were no parked vehicles at the time of the incident.

At the meeting on January 22, councillors will be asked to note the report, as well as continue to pledge their support for the charges.