A councillor in High Wycombe has said new price hikes across Buckinghamshire car parks are 'disappointing'.

Drivers can expect new increased tariffs for on and off-street parking across Bucks from next week. Cost of on-street parking will rise by 20p and off-street parking by 10p from Monday, April 3.

Labour councillor for Downley in Buckinghamshire, Melanie Smith, said the rise in price posed a risk to High Wycombe's industries of trade and commerce.

She said: "It's disappointing that charges for parking need to go up. The local council is reliant on funds from central government, so perhaps the real question to be asked is why that funding is seemingly insufficient."

Melanie also criticised the fluctuating nature of car parking systems in High Wycombe, which has seen several schemes trialled over a relatively short period of time. 

She said: "What is needed is appropriate parking charges and a system that works, but these schemes appear to be frequently changing. Each time new equipment is installed, it must be coming at a financial cost."

Buckinghamshire Council's cabinet minister for transport, Steven Broadbent, said the increased parking fees would go into maintaining the upkeep and enhancement of car parks around the county.

He said: "The changes form part of a wider programme of work to improve our car parks, which include installing new ticketless payment machines to make it easier for people to pay for parking - with customers able to choose cashless payment in addition to paying via the RingGo app or phoneline."

Steven added that these developments reflect a change in how people are choosing to pay for their parking, with a decrease in cash payments and an increase in use of contactless cards and apps.

READ MORE: Wycombe car parks to be replaced with payment machines

Bucks residents have also hit out at the imminent changes, with one Bucks Free Press reader Vixie commenting: "And they wonder why people are boycotting the high streets. It's becoming so much easier to shop online nowadays."

Another Free Press reader, named Rock'n'Roller, added: "Instead of encouraging people back to the high street, this will make them think twice whether to bother going into town and paying even more to park. Talk about a backwards step."

The introduction of new parking tariffs comes after a review by Buckinghamshire Council's budget scrutiny committee. Free parking periods are expected to remain unchanged.