Car parking charges in one of Oswestry's main charges are set to increase under plans to be agreed next week by Shropshire Council.

The cost of parking for an hour in Festival Square car park will rise from £1 to £1.20 with parking in other council bays elsewhere in town also set to rise.

The proposals will be going before Shropshire Council's Conservative cabinet on Wednesday, July 6.

The changes will also see charges for parking in council-controlled bays in Beatrice Street, Oak Street and Oswald Road go up from their current rate of 30p per hour to 40p.

In Ellesmere, charges will go up from £2.30 to £2.50 in the Moors and Castlefield parks, while on-street parking near The Mere will go from £1 to £1.20 per hour.

The council says the move will be the first increase since 2018, meaning the overall increase will be below the cumulative rate of inflation for that period.

Dean Carroll, Shropshire Council’s cabinet member for highways and the Conservative party's expected parliamentary candidate for North Shropshire at the next election, added: "Even with these changes many car parks will continue to be free, and many will cost just 40p an hour. And even with a small increase our prices will continue to compare favourably with many other parts of the country."

Earlier this year, Oswestry Town Council raised the price of one hour's stay in Central Car Park from 50p to £1, while longer stays remained unchanged – a move which drew criticism from Conservatives on the council.

In his report to the cabinet next week, Shropshire Council officer Kevin Aitken said: "People’s behaviour may change as a result of experiencing financial difficulties as the cost-of-living crisis bites. It is considered that the relatively low-cost increase proposed is unlikely to be a significant factor in influencing choice on its own."

Responses from people in Oswestry who were consulted around the plans show some opposition to the proposals.

One members of the public said: "Wrong to raise prices while everything else is going up. People will shop out of town which will be damaging to the economies of towns."

Mr Aitken's report added: "It is recognised that for low-income households, whose needs we seek to consider within a broad grouping of social inclusion, there may be a negative equality impact. This also includes those we may consider to be vulnerable, eg. single parent families, serving members of the armed forces and veterans."

He also justified the increase in relation to inflationary pressures.

Sunday parking in Festival Square will rise from 50p to 60p, and a yearly parking pass will cost £512, up from £448.

The move will mean the most expensive council-run car parks in the county are in Shrewsbury, where a peak hour's parking at The Quarry Swimming Baths, or in Bridge Street, Raven Meadows and St Austin's will all cost £2.