What is being proposed?
We are looking to introduce paid parking for our premium all day parks (8.00am - 5.00pm) in the Richmond town centre. Currently there are 165 all-day parks in the Harkness-Petrie, Papps and Warring car parks and we are considering converting these to paid parking with the first hour free.
Why is this being proposed?
Each year, we spend around $150,000 maintaining and renewing off-street carparks across Tasman. This includes resurfacing, cleaning, lighting, signage, line marking, and general repairs. Up to now, these costs have been covered by ratepayers.
The increased cost of providing all day parking was forecast in our 2018 Richmond Parking Strategy which identified that we would need to investigate the introduction of paid parking about now, so it's time to action some of the outcomes identified in the development of that strategy.
We’re at the point now where we need to consider a user-pays approach for our premium long-term parking spots. These spaces are often occupied all day by commuters, which limits availability for short-term visitors and shoppers — the people who help drive economic activity in our town centre. Free long-term parking reduces turnover and affects the vibrancy of our CBD.
Time-restricted short-term parking will remain free. These spaces play an important role in encouraging visits to local businesses, supporting retailers, and keeping the town centre active. They also help reduce illegal or unsafe parking elsewhere.
This proposed change is about creating a fairer system — one that better supports our local economy and ensures the cost of maintaining our carparks is shared more evenly.
Which parks would be affected?
We are only looking at car parks which are currently all-day car parks and not our time restricted parks such as: P120, P60, P30, P10 parks.
The first hour would be free. There would be no charges on Saturday, Sunday or public holidays.
Where are these all-day commuter parks?
How would it work?
We are investigating our options, but it would likely be
a) Pay by Plate meters and/or
b) Pay by smartphone app.
This approach is already used at existing private car parks in Richmond and public car parks in Nelson City.
How much would we charge?
We are trying to keep costs low so we are looking at charging $1 an hour up to a maximum of $4 a day. This fee is slightly lower than our current eBus Beecard fare (one zone) of $4.32 (return)
The first hour would be free.
There would be no charges on Saturday, Sunday or public holidays.
What do other South Island towns charge?
Our proposed price structure is lower than other small towns. Here are a few examples:
Where else in Richmond are there free all day car parks?
Our residential streets around the town centre offer free on-street carparking within a ten-minute walk. There is also parking available at Jubilee Park. Our eBus service also offers frequent and accessible links to Richmond.
When would it start?
Depending upon when equipment can be sourced and installed, we are considering a 1 October 2025 start date.
