Pembrokeshire Coast National Park members voted eight to four to raise single-site car park season tickets in 2027
Pembrokeshire Coast National Park(Image: Mike Kemp, In Pictures via Getty Images)
Visitors heading to some of Pembrokeshire’s best-loved beauty spots will face higher parking costs next year, with annual season tickets set to rise by 50%.
The cost of an individual car park season ticket at Pembrokeshire Coast National Park will increase from £50 to £75 in 2027, after members rejected a proposed doubling of the price to £100 amid cost-of-living concerns.
At their September 23 meeting, Pembrokeshire Coast National Park members examined season ticket pricing ahead of the 2027 season, with officials proposing an increase to £100 for certain tickets. Stay in the know by making sure you’re receiving our daily newsletter
The park charges at 14 car parks and has provided two season ticket alternatives since 2017, in addition to standard pay-as-you-go tariffs.
The two tickets cover either a single location or all sites and cost £50 and £140 respectively; officials recommended increasing the single-site price to £100 to address the current near threefold “price anomaly”.
In 2025, 207 all-sites season tickets were purchased, while the numbers of single-site tickets sold for each location were as follows:
- Saundersfoot – 323
- Poppit Sands – 213
- Little Haven – 172
- OYP St Davids – 129
- Freshwater East – 119
- Amroth – 112
- Solva – 39
- Newport Sands – 30
- Newgale – 28
- West Angle – 22
- Penally – 22
- Broadhaven – 14
- Manorbier – eight
- Nolton Haven – eight
A report presented to members stated the £50 single-site ticket cost the equivalent of 12.5 weeks of average pay-and-display parking, while the charging season extended beyond 35 weeks.
Parking revenue goes into the park’s general fund to help pay for other facilities and services.
Cllr Simon Hancock called for discounts for people on Universal Credit, but was informed similar schemes had virtually “zero uptake”.
Cllr Huw Murphy stated that the £50 rate generated nearly £62,000 annually, which would rise to £123,000 should the price increase to £100.
“I wouldn’t be supporting such an increase, especially now when fuel is nearly £2-a-litre in a cost-of-living crisis.”
Cllr Murphy put forward a compromise figure of £70, stating: “I’m struggling with a doubling of the fee; we are proposing to go £47 above the rate of inflation here today.”
Cllr Vanessa Thomas suggested a £75 rate after Cllr Di Clements formally moved the officers’ recommendation of £100.
Cllr Michael Williams seconded the amendment, objecting to the “100 per cent increase”, and remarked: “Everyone is being put under pressure, we should respect that.”
Cllr Thomas’s amendment was carried by eight votes to four, pushing individual season ticket prices up to £75 from next year.
Standard pay-as-you-go charges range from free parking for up to 30 minutes to £8 for a full day.
Both season ticket prices last increased in 2023, climbing from £25 to £50 for a single site and from £70 to £140 for all sites.
The report noted that both ticket types permitted unlimited use by one motor vehicle at a time, with the all-sites ticket adding only the benefit of parking across different locations.
