Parking your car in Hitchin will cost motorists more from next month it has been announced.

North Herts District Council have released details of how much more drivers will have to pay to park in and around our town.

NHDC say all but one of the prices for the remaining tariffs will increase by 20p or less, with some increasing by just 5p.

However, the cost of season tickets will rise by 6%, equating to a £5 increase on a one-month Season Ticket and a £43 increase on a 12-month season ticket over the current 2019-20 prices.

The council is also looking into the viability of a trial pay on exit parking scheme and hopes to announce further details in the coming months, with a similar looked at for EV Charging in council car parks.

Cllr Sam Collins, North Herts Council's Executive Member for Executive Member for Enterprise, the Arts and Transport said: "One of the things we hear often from residents and businesses is that they have to rush back to their cars as their parking tickets are running out when they would rather spend more time in town spending money.

"Moving to pay on exit will mean that people will only pay for the amount of time that they park and that will really help boost business in our towns.

"Due to the coronavirus lockdowns and reduced travel the Council suffered a significant loss in parking revenues and although the Government said they would cover this shortfall and that hasn't happened."

Councillor Collins added that that NHDC are continuing to invest in car parks locally, including installing new more reliable and far more energy efficient lifts in the Lairage Car Park in Hitchin.

He also pointed out that NHDC have upgraded existing pay and display machines to contactless, while Pay By Phone is available for use, which allows users to top up their stay without returning to their vehicle.

Councillor Collins added: "It is important though that we do not only focus on conventional parking solutions, as it has become extremely clear recently we are overly reliant on fossil fuels, and to address this we are actively looking at ways to improve and increase our electric vehicle charging infrastructure in the area."

The new parking charges will come into force from Monday, October 25.