New payment system implemented at another two Worthing car parks

The automatic number plate recognition (ANPR) system at each of Worthing Borough Council’s three multi-storeys came to the end of its life and ‘needed to be replaced’.

A new system is now live at each of the three multi-storey car parks, being implemented at High Street this week, at Grafton last week and at Buckingham Road in October 2024.

"We’ve changed the way motorists pay for parking at our High Street, Grafton and Buckingham Road multi-storey car parks, moving to a new system that’ll see drivers pay for their stay when they arrive,” the council explained.

"We introduced the ANPR system in 2014 but issues developed over time where it was failing to read a proportion of number plates correctly, resulting in drivers having problems entering and leaving the car parks. The system was also expensive to run and maintain, meaning important funds were diverted away from other public services just to keep it going.

“Rather than reinvest in an expensive system that wasn’t great for all our visitors, we have decided to implement a new system at High Street, Grafton and Buckingham Road multi-storey car parks that will see drivers will pay for their stay when they arrive. The same system is already in place at our surface car parks.”

The council said visitors are able to pay in cash, by card or by using the MiPermit app.

A social media post added: “The system is ticketless, so nobody will need to return to their vehicle to display a ticket after payment. People using the app won’t need to go to a payment machine and can easily extend their stay on the go without returning to the car park.

“We are maintaining flexible, discounted parking for town centre workers and have emailed all registered customers to let them know how to sign up for the continued offer. Further details can be found at https://www.adur-worthing.gov.uk/parking/worthing-car-parks/.”

The council has posted a number of reminders about the change and each social media post has been flooded with comments from unhappy people.

A number of responses left under the latest post raised the concern that those without smartphones, mainly the older generation will be left in the lurch.

Others also pointed to problems with phone signal at the car parks.

One Facebook user said this chance was ‘another way to kill off Worthing town’ and ‘such a backward step’.

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