Causeway Coast and Glens Council to introduce car parking charges at four new sites in Portrush and Ballycastle

From April 1, charges of 50p an hour will be introduced at Portrush (West Bay) and three areas of Ballycastle (seafront car park, harbour car park and ferry terminal car park).

A spokesperson from Causeway Coast and Glens Borough Council said: “Most of the car parks located on the Causeway Coast have very limited capacity, and increasing tourist and traffic volumes will continue to add further pressure in key areas.

"In July 2020, Council introduced charges to 3 Portrush car parks (Dunluce, East Strand and Harbour car parks), which has assisted businesses in the town due to a greater turnover of spaces. It also increased revenue for the Council in order to minimise the impact of rates increases.

"As part of the rates setting process for 2024/25, revenue raising options were considered and car parking charges were identified and considered along with inequalities of parking charges in some towns against others.

"In order to harmonise the free and charged car parks, proposals were considered and approved to charge one additional car park in Portrush (West Bay) and 3 car parks in Ballycastle (Seafront car park, Harbour car park, Ferry Terminal car park). Revenue from these four charged car parks is proposed to raise £257k per annum.

"These charges are on a seasonal basis from 1st April – 30th September (8.30am-6.30pm), with a tariff of 50p per hour.”