AN inflation-busting 10 per cent increase in car parking charges looks set to be approved by near-bankrupt Somerset Council next week.

At the same time, councillors are being asked to postpone their controversial Sunday car parking charges by a year, so they do not take effect before next May’s council elections.

Sunday charging would then come into effect in the autumn of 2027, when new charging tiers will see a further round of swingeing increases.

Instead, the plan is to extend on-street charging zones to include Sundays before the car park tiers take effect.

Executive councillors are being recommended on Wednesday (October 7) to put up parking fees from next January by more than three times the UK Consumer Prices Index inflation rate as a way of phasing in the new prices they want to achieve.

The council said parking charges had not gone up since last year.

Councillors are also being asked to approve a six-month trial of seven-day operation for Taunton’s park and ride buses, and to spend £350,000 replacing payment machines as they move to a cashless system.

Council deputy leader Cllr Liz Leyshon said it was ‘fundamentally unfair’ that car parks in different towns in Somerset had different charging rates and principles, and the authority ‘have a duty to address this’.

Cllr Leyshon said: “These proposals are about creating a clearer and more consistent system, while recognising that every town and community is different.

“We have listened to the issues raised and have revised the approach so that changes are phased where current charges are especially low.”

Cllr Leyshon said proposals to charge in the 42 Somerset car parks which were currently free were still on hold while ‘local engagement’ took place.

She said: “We want communities and local representatives to help shape proposals and ensure local impacts are properly understood.”