Parking charges to return in Edinburgh by end of June

Parking charges could return to Edinburgh as early as Monday – but by the end of June at the latest.

Vehicles without a residents’ parking permit in central, peripheral and extended areas of the city will once again be charged using the pay and display system.

However, holders of residents’ parking permits will still be able to park without charge in pay and display bays within their own parking zone.

This will continue “until remote or home working is no longer the default national position”, at which point the City of Edinburgh Council will review the policy.

The decision to reintroduce parking charges was backed by the local authority’s policy and sustainability committee at its fortnightly meeting on Thursday.

Parking charges were suspended by the council on March 24 to support key workers in finding places to park.

However, the move has led to a loss of more than £12m in income for the council since the first week of lockdown.

Councillors have been keen to reintroduce charges to incentivise residents to only travel when essential and avoid congestion.

It is expected it would take less than 72 hours to restart the city’s parking charge infrastructure following inspections.

Story by local democracy reporter Noa Hoffman