Plans have been introduced by Powys County Council to charge blue badge holders for parking in Powys.

In the draft budget that is set to be voted on Powys County Council Cabinet on Tuesday (January 16), it proposes a trio of policies to increase the income from car parks in the county.

In the draft budget the council has confirmed that the "charging structure introduced in April 2023 is to be retained" but confirmed that "there will be no increases in respect of parking for longer than four hours nor for car park permits."

The higher charges are forecast to be worth £392,000 to the council over the course of the coming year.

However the council is also proposing two extra changes to car parks in the county the most notable being the a plan to "introduce Blue badge charging in car parks".

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The move is expected to generate an extra £100,000 a year for council coffers. It forms part of a package of measures worth nearly £11 million intended to balance the books as the council stares down the barrel of soaring costs and a lower-than-expected settlement from the Welsh Government.

They have also proposed bringing in car parking charges at the last car parks that are owned by the council that are currently free - a move expected to raise an extra £30,000 for the council.

A spokesperson for Powys County Council said: “As part of the draft budget 2024/25, proposals that are being considered include retaining the car parking charge price increase that was introduced in April 2023, introduce charging for blue badge holders in pay and display car parks but allow an additional hour on top of their paid tariff as a concession and introduce car parking charges at free car parks that are managed by the council.

“Cabinet will be considering the draft budget on Tuesday, January 16. If given the go-ahead, it will then be considered by Full Council on Thursday, February 22.”

The news comes after a cross party review of parking in the county which assessed car parking charges, how to manage local authority car parks, town centre footfall and the pros and cons of local active travel schemes.

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Alongside the politically balanced membership of councillors, the review group also included representatives from town councils and local businesses where car parks are sited. The review was be led by an independent, impartial consultant.

Councillor Mark Hammond, who was a member of the parking review has said that they will be releasing their findings at the end of this month and that it could look different to the draft budget.

"The team leading the review have stated that their draft strategy is not due to be published until the end of January, said Cllr Hammond. "Along with other issues highlighted in the County Council's draft budget, it will be looked at in detail by all of the Council's scrutiny committees during the next weeks, and is then expected to be debated at a full County Council meeting on February 22."

There have been a number of suggestions and proposals put forward during the complex review, based on community feedback, so we need to await what the review team publishes at the end of this month.

The range of cost-savings the council is considering is wide, taking into account everything from its estate to even removing flag poles from some council offices to reduce its compliance budget - a move expected to save £20,000.

It is expected to save £40,000 by cleaning its own offices less frequently.