PRICES for car park season tickets are to drop in the Cotswolds from next month.

Recent technological advances in the way that Cotswold District Council (CDC) processes applications for car park season tickets means that the service can now be delivered more cheaply.

As a result, with effect from August 1 CDC will be passing on these savings directly to motorists.

From Monday, there will be significant savings for those who choose to make one, three or six month flexible payments.

As an example, the price of a six monthly standard all-day season ticket will be slashed from £310 to £209, while annual season tickets will be reduced by 10 per cent to £418 for a standard all day permit and £216 for a standard five hour permit.

Cllr Chris Hancock, the CDC cabinet member for enterprise and partnerships, said: “We are always looking to work smarter and more efficiently, and the way we process car park season ticket applications has benefited from the introduction of advanced technology which will reduce our overheads considerably.

“This has enabled us to reduce prices, and I am sure that customers will be pleased.

“The majority of season tickets we sell are for off-street car parks in Cirencester where parking demand has increased significantly over the last 12 months.

“This has resulted in the availability of spaces for season ticket holders being very limited at peak times during some days.

“The council has provided a named overflow car park for the majority of season ticket holders, but this arrangement has not always proved to be convenient and some people have had to pay to park elsewhere.

“We have therefore included in the reductions we have made an additional 10 per cent cut for a period of a year whilst we source additional space.

"We hope this additional reduction will compensate motorists for the difficulties they have encountered.”