PARKING tariffs are going up in Royston, but charges after 4pm are set to be scrapped. New tariffs for the town s car parks were finalised by North Herts District Council s cabinet at its meeting last week. They are set to be approved by the full council

PARKING tariffs are going up in Royston, but charges after 4pm are set to be scrapped.

New tariffs for the town's car parks were finalised by North Herts District Council's cabinet at its meeting last week. They are set to be approved by the full council later this month.

The plans involve scrapping the 10p charge which is currently levied in all district council car parks after 4pm.

However, the cost of two-hour stays in the civic centre, John Street, and Warren car parks will shoot up from 70p to �1, a hike of 43 per cent.

Three-hour visits to The Warren or civic centre are also rising from �1.20 to �1.50.

Meanwhile stays of more than three hours will be banned in the John Street and Angel Pavement car parks, with a special tariff of 50p for two hours being imposed in Angel Pavement.

The changes are similar to measures proposed by district councillor Peter Burt in December.

He said at the time: "Nobody likes paying more for parking, but 30p is not a massive increase, and more people will be able to use the spaces in the short term car parks which are freed up by the abolition of stays over three hours."

The proposals will be ratified by the full district council when it meets on February 25.

The Royston First business improvement district company also has plans to help with the cost of parking in Royston, but speaking on behalf of Royston First, town centre manager Geraint Burnell said nothing had been finalised yet.

He said: "Following our successes with the Christmas lights and window dressing projects, Royston First had hoped to be able to announce a range of parking initiatives.

"Unfortunately, not only have we encountered complex legal issues but also our proposals necessarily have to mesh with the district council's parking strategy - which has for sometime been undergoing the district-wide review.

"We are, however, in discussion with members of the council's Royston and district area committee about launching at least one initiative in the short term whilst continuing to plug away at delivering our long term objectives. Hopefully we'll have news on this within the next few weeks.