TENS OF thousands of pounds have been lost in car parking fees across Test Valley since the coronavirus lockdown began, it has been revealed.

Deputy leader of Test Valley Borough Council, cllr Nick Adams-King, announced the lockdown may have cost the council £167,500 since it began on March 23.

Now the cllr has announced "six weeks" of being in lockdown is estimated to cost TVBC £228,155, as parking charges continue to remain on hold during this time.

This comes after TVBC lifted parking fees from all of their car parks since Boris Johnson’s lockdown announcement, allowing residents to park there for as long as they wish for free.

Cllr Nick-Adams-King said: "Our income each month from parking is £167,500, which is what this has already cost us, and by six weeks it would be £228,155 since lockdown started.

"It is something we will bear on the basis that it is the right thing to do; it helps people who live in the town centre so they can park, because there is not enough on-street parking for everybody who lives in Romsey.

"It helps people can get in and out of town quickly and they will not be pushing the buttons on the machines, which reduces the risk of spreading the virus."

He added: "We said we would do this for three weeks going on the advice from the government and we will keep reviewing it to see what they say."

Cllr John Parker, who represents Romsey Tadburn on the borough council, said the lockdown is unlikely to "make a significant dent in the council's finances", providing it only continues "for a few more weeks".

He said: "It is a good move as we have not got people vying for spaces for on-street parking, because if people live in the town centre area they can now park in public car parks rather than in a permit area."

He added: "It will be interesting to know what impact taking the parking charges off would have had on the shopping footfall if we had not had a lockdown and everything was normal."

A spokesperson from TVBC said the money lost was estimated based "on average income and that this six week period now crosses over two financial years".

As previously reported in the Romsey Advertiser, Mr Adams-King confirmed the prices will return after lockdown has finished, but said there may be changes due to Hampshire County Council taking over parking responsibilities.

This comes as on-street parking changes in the Test Valley came into force on April 1, including the doubling of price for residents’ parking permits.