PRICES at a popular car park will increase slightly when it reopens later this month.

Priory Street Car Park, in Colchester town centre, has been shut since September for a massive revamp.

It will reopen before the end of December following the £400,000 makeover.

The number of spaces in the car park will reduce from 220 to 170 but remaining spaces will be widened to allow better access for disabled people and people with pushchairs, New charges will have exactly the same structure as St Mary’s car park in the town, which means the scrapping of the popular four hours for £2.50 offer after 9.30am.

Entry after 6pm will increase from 50p to £2.

Other changes including Sunday tariffs in Britannia and Vineyard Street car parks in Colchester will go up from 50p to £1 on April 1 next year.

Colchester Council’s car park boss Mike Lilley (Lab) said: “The pricing structure at St Mary’s is working well and Priory Street will have the exact same when it reopens in the second week of December.”

The all-day tariffs in Coast Road, High Street and Seaview Avenue in West Mersea will also increase from £2 to £3 in April.

Mr Lilley said the hike had come at the request of West Mersea Town Council.

He said: “They had asked for the rate to go up.

“They receive half of the money from the car parks and asked if it was possible to increase the charge slightly.”