Porthtowan car park: charges, a new discount and what’s next

Anyone who has stared at the pay machine at Porthtowan beach car park and winced at the total will want to read this. Since Cornwall Council brought in new charges at Beach Road car park, St Agnes Parish Council says it has been fielding concerns from residents, businesses and visitors, and there’s now a clearer picture of what might change and what almost certainly won’t.

What the Parish Council has actually been doing

The car park is owned and run by Cornwall Council, which sets the charges. The Parish Council has no power to change them, but it can make sure local frustration is heard and push for practical fixes alongside the council.

On 7 August, the Parish Clerk and Deputy Clerk sat down with Cornwall Council’s Strategic Parking Manager and the local Cornwall Councillor, Pete Mitchell. Cornwall Council spent the rest of the month collecting parking data at the site, and will weigh up its options through September. Don’t expect a blanket cut to every charge though. The Parish Council says a general reduction across the board looks unlikely, even if the council is willing to look at other options.

The JustPark discount that could actually move the needle

The more promising development is around JustPark. Beach Road’s patchy phone signal has been the sticking point for adding it to the council’s discounted Wallet scheme, and the Parish Council has now installed Starlink internet at the nearby Porthtowan toilets to fix that. Cornwall Council has tested the connection, confirmed it is good enough, and commissioned JustPark to bring Beach Road onto the Wallet scheme.

Here’s how the Wallet works. You preload at least £35 into the JustPark app, and that credit stays valid for two years. From there, you can buy discounted daily parking sessions at participating Cornwall Council car parks whenever you actually use them, rather than committing to a season ticket. As an example, a Wallet rate of £2.89 a day against the current £11.50 full-day charge at Beach Road works out at roughly a 75% saving. It’s aimed squarely at people who park there often but not every single day.

What happens next

Cornwall Council is due to meet Parish Council representatives again on 29 September, with a statutory public consultation on the cards for October.

Councillors Moira Wood and Ruth Pudney have pointed residents towards the Parish Council’s parking webpage for more detail on resident parking permits, the JustPark Wallet and the upcoming consultations, and for anyone weighing up whether to wait for the Wallet or just pay at the machine, that page is the one to bookmark.