Parking fees proposed for Sixfields Reservoir, Racecourse Car Park and Claret Car Park on Edgar Mobbs Way...and garden bin collection set to rise
Drivers visiting Sixfields Reservoir, Racecourse Car Park and the Claret Car Park on Edgar Mobbs Way could soon be charged for parking there – and garden bin collections set to rise by £2 a year.
West Northamptonshire Council (WNC) have published plans to put up a number of their licensing fees and introduce car parking charges in popular areas as budgets are set for next year.
The authority has completed its annual review of fees and charges as part of its draft budget process to take effect in April 2025.
A report published by the council says the new costs reflect the impact of any inflationary increases in the cost of service delivery and are benchmarked against other providers.
It says that the fees and charges, including parking payments, penalty notices and business licences, represent a key source of funds and enable a range of services to be provided.
According to WNC, it will generate approximately £28.5 million coming in.
Documents show that annual fees for kerbside garden waste collection will also rise from £58 to £60. Car parking charges in Northampton and Daventry and the price of on-street parking permits have been proposed to remain the same in 2025/26.
However, fees will be introduced for parking at the Sixfields Reservoir and the Racecourse Car Park at a £1 per hour daytime charge. A £2 day charge at the Claret Car Park on Edgar Mobbs Way will also be introduced.
A range of licences administered by WNC that people need to run certain businesses will be subject to increases next year.
It would cost someone nearly £1,000 to get a licence to open a sex shop in Northamptonshire and nearly £500 for a dangerous wild animal licence.
A wide range of businesses and activities require a formal licence to operate, including dog breeding, running a sex shop, exhibiting and selling animals, and tattooing and piercing premises.
An application for a licence to open a sex shop in West Northamptonshire will increase from £965 to £984.50. Anyone applying to open a sex entertainment establishment would be charged £3,686.50, up from £3,615.
If owning a dangerous wild animal is on your list, licensing fees will increase from £465 to £474.50. Similarly, the price of a licence for exhibiting animals will be bumped up to £489.50.
A licence to be able to run an acupuncture, ear piercing, tattooing, or electrolysis business is set to increase from £300 to £306, with the price of a practitioner’s licence also rising. An individual would have to pay £535.50 up from £525 for an animal boarding licence and £556 to be able to run a dog breeding business. The new fees and charges will go to WNC’s cabinet along with the draft budget at a meeting next week (December 10).