CHARGES for residents' parking in the Richmondshire and Hambleton areas are going up.

North Yorkshire County Council says the rise - the first in ten years - will fund investigation of new requests for residents’ parking schemes.

The new fees, which also affect the Harrogate and Scarborough areas, will come into effect from today.

There has been a freeze on new residents’ parking zones since 2013 because of limited resources but during that time requests for new schemes and requests to amend existing zones have been received.

A shortfall in the administration costs of some £123,000 a year has been identified and the council claims the rise will cover that and raise a modest surplus to allow it to investigate new requests and amend existing scheme.

The review has also enabled the county council to rationalise charges to provide a more consistent charging structure throughout the county.

As a result, the scale of increases varies from area to area, but from April 9 a permit will cost £30 a year.