Free parking in car parks in parts of Suffolk is under threat as Babergh District Council struggles to balance its books, it has been revealed.

Three hours of free parking is currently available in car parks in towns and villages throughout Babergh, including Sudbury, Hadleigh and Lavenham.

But the cost of subsidising the free parking has cost the authority about £425,000 this year and it is set to increase next year.

Now the authority, which is facing a budget cap of £1.5million next year, says it can no longer afford to fund the subsidy if it is to continue to deliver other essential services.

A paper is to go before the authority's cabinet in January 9 recommending consultation begins with affected towns and parishes to discuss options for changes to parking tariffs next year.

Babergh leader councillor David Busby said: “Like all local authorities, we are facing tough financial decisions for the year ahead and find ourselves facing an increasingly difficult challenge.

“We need to balance our books; we need to support our high streets and town centre businesses by encouraging trade; and we need to encourage more sustainable travel in order reduce congestion in our towns, improve air quality and tackle climate change.

“Thankfully, these things are not mutually exclusive.  By introducing a revised tariff that includes short-term charges that are as low as possible compared to other authorities, we can continue to attract visitors to our towns and by working together with our towns and parishes, ensure shoppers and workers have access to the right spaces in the right places – increasing space turnover and offering more sustainable travel options, particularly for those simply ‘popping in’ to the high street.”

“This will allow us to invest in our car parks to create a positive first and last impression of towns and villages for visitors, as well as being in a position to do more to promote and encourage sustainable travel,” Cllr Busby added.

The new tariffs would only apply to council-run car parks, with existing on-street parking remaining unchanged and blue badge holders still able to park in the council’s car parks for free.

If the proposals to change parking tariffs at Babergh's cabinet on Tuesday January 9 are approved, officers will meet with town and parish councils early in the New Year.

A further report will then go back to cabinet in April.  Councillors on the authority's overview and scrutiny committee will also consider any changes to car parking tariffs alongside wider draft budget proposals in the New Year.