Despite objections from members of the public, and concerns raised by a town centre councillor, Swindon Borough Council's cabinet has agreed to bring the fees to park at the Bristol Street Car park in line with other central car parks.

The council has taken ownership of the car park near the railway station from Network Rail.

It will now cost more to park there: to park for an hour costs today £1 and will be £1.20, a two to four-hour stay costs £2, which will rise to £2.40 for two hours, and £4.80 for four hours.

A 24-hour stay costs £3.50 at the moment. The new tariffs will anyone parking for longer than six hours paying £8.80 – a 151 per cent increase.

Objections had been put to the council by a number of members of the public - they ranged from disliking the fact that prices were rising with no improvement or change at all in service to the fact that other car parks, in Old Town, were closer to the town centre but were cheaper, and that the car park was designed for commuters using the railway station, and not shoppers and visitors to the town centre.

Councillor Bob Wright, Labour member for Central ward warned members of the cabinet that putting up the prices might not see more people using the car park: "Why would someone park there and walk all the way into the town centre, especially if they're the same price as the car parks closer in town. They'd only do that if they were full.

"I understand you need the revenue and if fewer and fewer people are using the town centre car parks, you might feel the need to put up the tariffs - but this will be like the Zurich car park in Sheppard Street which was empty on Saturdays and Sundays, nobody wanted to go down there."

Cabinet member for economy and place Oliver Donachie compared the prices at Bristol Street to the Temple Gate car park in Bristol, a similar distance from its rail station: "Three hours there is £7, here it's £2.40. It's £14.30 for 24 hours there, and our tariff is £8.80."