Up to 100 cut-price Northgate End permits for town centre workers from early November, from £799 a year. The Causeway car park may reopen for Waitrose.
People who work in Bishop’s Stortford town centre will be able to buy discounted parking permits for Northgate End from early November. East Herts Council says the six-month pilot could save a full-time worker up to £200 a year.
Up to 100 permits will be offered. The discount depends on the car’s carbon dioxide emissions, from 5% to 20%. Cars emitting more than 170g/km cannot join (East Herts Council, 15 October 2026).
In a separate move, the council has applied for planning consent to reopen part of the closed Causeway car park while the Waitrose car park next to it is repaired. Its own covering letter says the Waitrose car park has subsidence, “likely as a result of the mains sewer degradation”.
What the permits cost
The council has priced the permits against a full-time worker paying the standard daily rate. Northgate End charges £4.40 a day, which the council calls the lowest daily charge in the district. Over 227 working days that comes to £998.80 a year.
| Car’s CO₂ emissions | Discount | A year | Six months | A month |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Daily rate, no permit | none | £998.80 | £499.40 | see note |
| Zero emissions | 20% | £799.00 | £399.50 | £66.50 |
| 1 to 99g/km | 15% | £849.00 | £424.50 | £70.75 |
| 100 to 130g/km | 10% | £899.00 | £449.50 | £75.00 |
| 131 to 170g/km | 5% | £949.00 | £474.50 | £79.00 |
The council’s table gives the no-permit monthly figure as £82.23. A twelfth of £998.80 is £83.23.
The £200 saving applies only to an electric or other zero-emission car. A petrol car in the top band saves about £50 a year.
Who can apply
The permits are open to:
- people who work for a town centre business and pay for their own parking
- town centre businesses that pay for their staff’s parking
Permit holders can park in any free space on floors A to E of Northgate End. They can pay monthly or annually. The permits are virtual, so there is nothing to display. Each one is tied to one registration, and the council will check its emissions against DVLA records. A business can hold several permits, but each must name a car.
The prices assume regular full-time parking during charging hours. The council says the permits may not be the best value for anyone who parks less often or works mostly evenings or Sundays.
Why the council is doing it
The pilot follows talks with Bishop’s Stortford BID, the town’s business improvement district. The BID has been asking for cheaper parking for town centre businesses and their staff.
Cllr Tim Hoskin, the council’s executive member for environmental sustainability, said: “Regular parking costs soon add up, so a saving of up to £200 a year could make a real difference.”
He said the council had chosen several levels of discount “rather than limiting the scheme to zero-emission vehicles”, because lower-emission and electric cars “are not affordable or practical for everyone”.
Karen Burton of the BID said the pilot “will not meet the needs of every worker”. She said it was “an opportunity to test a new approach and understand what works in practice”.
The pilot runs until the end of the financial year. The council and the BID will then decide whether to change it, expand it or try it elsewhere.
The Causeway car park
The Causeway car park has been closed to the public since Northgate End opened. That was a condition of the 2019 planning permission for the multi-storey, imposed “in the interests of the free flow of traffic”. It says the Causeway “shall subsequently remain unavailable for public use”.
The council, as applicant, now wants to vary that condition (application 3/26/1404/VAR). The change would let the Causeway be used for short periods with written approval from the planning department (East Herts planning register, 3/26/1404/VAR).
The council’s announcement says the reopening is for Waitrose customers “while the supermarket carries out essential repairs to its own car park”. It would replace lost spaces, not add to the total, and last only as long as the repairs (East Herts Council, 15 October 2026).
The covering letter with the application gives more detail. It says:
- part of the Waitrose car park will close to deal with subsidence, likely caused by a failing mains sewer
- Thames Water plans “investigation and repair works” on the sewer main that runs under the site
- the Causeway could later be used for “community events”, under national permitted development rules
Hertfordshire County Council, the highway authority, does not object. It wants a condition requiring a parking management plan before the Causeway opens. That plan would cover which spaces close and when, signs, cycle parking, safe walking routes through both car parks and to Northgate End, and putting the Waitrose car park back afterwards (Hertfordshire County Council highways response, 21 October 2026).
No dates for the repairs have been published. The council says the parking arrangements, dates and length of the works will be shared if the application is approved. Comments can be made until 12 November.
What it means for you
- If you work in the town centre and drive in every weekday, a permit will save you between about £50 and £200 a year, depending on your car. To register interest, email the council at business.ops@eastherts.gov.uk.
- If you work part time, evenings or Sundays, work out your own days first. At £4.40 a day, someone parking three days a week would pay less than the cheapest permit.
- If you shop at Waitrose, expect part of its car park to close at some point for the sewer and subsidence repairs. Nothing is booked yet.
- To comment on the Causeway application, use the reference 3/26/1404/VAR on the planning register before 12 November.
Charges at every town car park are on our parking in Bishop’s Stortford page, and new applications each week are on our planning applications page.
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