RESIDENTS are facing a huge hike in fees for the right to park more than one car outside their homes.

Drivers who live in designated parking zones in Eastleigh will have to pay 43 per cent more for a second car permit, while the cost of parking a third car has rocketed by more than 50 per cent.

Under current rules, the first permit per household in the town is free. But the charge for parking a second vehicle has climbed from £35 to £50, while fees for a third car have leapt from £65 to £100.

Eastleigh Borough Council claims the hikes are needed to ensure that their parking scheme is selffunding, rather than a burden on those who do not use the service.

But the move, which affects all of the town’s nine resident parking zones, has been condemned as an “extra tax”.

And one residents’ group has called the increase a “slap in the face” for families struggling to cope with the recession.

Patricia Hassell, from the Cranbury and Desborough Residents’ Association, said: “Its an awful lot of money for us to have to fork out – especially if you simply have to have an extra car. It seems terrible to think that we have got to pay that much money – and it’s not just here, but all over Eastleigh.”

Letters sent out to residents who are preparing to renew their permits, explain that zones one, two, three and six will be subject to the new charges from January 1.

Zones four and five start paying extra from February 1 and zones seven and eight from April 1. But zone nine residents will have to pay more before the year is up.

Plans to increase the charges were agreed by the council’s Liberal Democrat cabinet in October last year – though the actual costs involved have only just been revealed.

Conservative group leader, Councillor Godfrey Olson, said: “Once it is imposed, I’m afraid there could be a spiral of charges each year – this won’t be the end of it. It is all about revenue generation.”

A council spokesman said it was the authority’s policy to encourage sustainable travel and reduce the reliance on the use of cars.

“The residents parking scheme is self-funding. This ensures that the cost of the scheme is paid for by the users and is not a burden on other council tax.”

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