USERS of a popular County Durham forest have expressed their outrage after they were told parking charges are set to go up for those visiting on Bank Holidays.

Walkers, cyclists and others wanting to park at Hamsterley Forest, near Bishop Auckland, will now have to pay £10 per car following the announcement by the Forestry Commission on Wednesday.

Drivers currently pay an off-peak rate of £5 per day to park at the site although this will also go up to £6 when they changes come into force on April 1.

The current price of £1.50 for up to an hours parking will remain the same.

Recreation and public affairs manager for the Forestry Commission in North-East England, Alex MacLennan, said the increase in price was to “cope with the additional pressures on site and associated costs”.

“We believe this very good value when you compare to other local tourism attractions within the North-East and also County Durham where some attractions charge entry per person and per child,” he said. “Forestry Commission does not make any profit from providing recreational provisions and we continue to reduce the running costs of the site whilst also investing for visitors and working alongside committed partners such as volunteer groups.”

Mr McLennan said the increased price would help support facilities such as litter collection, toilet cleaning and improvements to the play trail and car park while also providing extra staff for busy periods.

Following damage to the forest in November, some of the funds would also go towards providing security cameras.

However, after announcing the news on the Hamsterley Forest Facebook page, more than 100 people accused the Forestry Commission of being “greedy”.

Ryan Rigs Fisher said: “£10 is an absolute disgrace for parking in a forest. How are you ever going to encourage people to come when you charge so much?”

Steve Hendry added: “That’s just over the top. Try to encourage kids to get out in the open and be active and then you pull this stunt? Great. I love taking my daughter and we go regularly because we’re local. I’ll definitely be giving Bank Holidays a swerve.”

Paul Hart, manager of the Danny Hart’s Descend Bike Park in the forest, said the increase could put people off.

“It’s a lot of money; our fees are £25 so to expect them to pay another £10 to park is an awful lot so we are hoping it’s not going to put people off coming,” he said.

Mr McLennan said the Forestry Commission was keen to encourage people to buy a 12-month Discovery Pass for £43, rising to £45 from April 1, which allows them to park all year round.

Members of the public can also enjoy free parking for a year when they volunteer more than three times.

He added: “We continue to work hard at ensuring Hamsterley Forest is a great place for everyone to visit and as you can imagine we cannot sustain rising costs as we develop the site to a better standard and standards we must maintain.”