A PLAN to introduce Sunday parking charges across Somerset have been put on hold after a public backlash.

Somerset Council had proposed bringing in charges at car parks which are currently free on a Sunday, to ensure consistency across the county.

However, the authority has backtracked on the plan after a public consultation revealed “significant opposition to the proposal”.

The council’s Climate and Place Scrutiny Committee also recommended the charges not be implemented.

This week, the Executive Committee agreed to defer any changes until a wider policy setting out guiding principles for parking across the county has been developed and approved.

READ MORE: Have your say over plans for Sunday parking charges across Somerset

As part of the policy development, all elements of parking will be evaluated, including the role and function of on- and off-street parking in Somerset towns, simplified tariff structures, payment mechanisms, and accessibility.

Lead member for transport and waste services, Councillor Richard Wilkins, said: “We have listened to the concerns of residents and businesses in the affected areas, and the results of the consultation clearly show how strongly people feel about this.

“There are significant inconsistencies in our approach to parking that do need to be considered now we are a single council. However, we need to look at the wider implications of any changes and work out what is best for the whole of Somerset.

“We will now go away and develop a county-wide parking policy principles document that we anticipate will be considered initially by our Climate and Place Scrutiny Committee in January 2026.”

There are currently different charging principles applied across the county’s 200 council-run car parks, and the system has not been reviewed since Somerset Council came into being in 2023.

READ MORE: Somerset businesses and members of hte public push back against Sunday parking charge plans

The new policy will aim to provide a comprehensive and integrated framework for managing parking across the authority area.

Reacting to the news, Cllr Bob Filmer, Conservative Opposition spokesperson for transport, said: “I’m pleased the Executive has backed down on its proposal to impose Sunday parking charges across Somerset.

“This was an ill thought out idea, and the strength of opposition made that clear. Local businesses, residents and even some Liberal Democrat councillors raised concerns, yet the administration pushed ahead until the very last moment.

“The Scrutiny Committee recommended that the plan to introduce Sunday parking charges across Somerset should be scrapped, but instead the Executive have decided to kick the decision down the road. The good news is these charges are not coming in now, but the council will have to revisit this next year.”