CHANGES to parking charges across Wyre Forest will come into force tomorrow.

Restricted season tickets, which are half the price of full season tickets, are now extended to include Vale Road in Stourport, The Avenue car park in Blakedown and the Dog Lane and Gardners Meadow car parks in Bewdley.

Rail users have the option to park all day on Comberton Place in Kidderminster for £2.50, rather than at the railway station, which costs £3.50.

Shoppers can park and pop into town for a reduced cost on Stadium Close car park, in Kidderminster, near the Harriers Ground, for 50p for up to two hours.

For residents, all restricted and full season ticket users can now leave their cars for up to two months, without needing to move them, instead of only being able to park for 23 hours in any 24-hour period.

Across the district, visitors and residents can now buy tickets to park for up to two days so they do not have to move their cars if they want to stay overnight or for the weekend.

Conservative, Marcus Hart, Wyre Forest District Council’s cabinet member for housing and environmental services, said: “We hope that residents, businesses, visitors and shoppers alike will see the benefits of the new car parking charges.”

He added: “Over the last few weeks, there has been a lot of focus on a couple of aspects of the district car parking review and the many positive features have been largely overlooked. Our intention with the review was to make car parking charges fair and equitable across the district and this is what we have achieved with the new arrangements so far.”

He went on: “However, this is only the first phase of our review. The second phase will come as the council sets its budget next year and further inconsistencies in parking charges are addressed.”