CAR parking charges are to shoot up across Southampton on Sunday ahead of P-day – the day shoppers will no longer be able to park for free.

On Monday, the hoods will come off new parking meters at West Quay Retail Park, pictured – the last remaining free car parking in the city centre.

The move comes less than two weeks before the new Ikea store opens its doors for the first time with thousands more shoppers set to descend on the city. WestQuay Shopping centre will also extend opening hours to 8pm on weekdays and 7pm on Saturdays.

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Southampton City Council is hiking its charges by up to 50 per cent. Tory council chiefs approved the raft of increases averaging six per cent just before Christmas.

They ignored concerns from businesses insisting the rises were modest and reflected the value of the council car parks. Among the increases, overnight charges for the city’s five multi-storeys will go up from £2 to £3, short-stay car park charges in the city centre will go up by 20p to £2.80 for two hours, while charges for long-stay city centre car parks will rise by up to 50p to £8 for over seven hours. Prices in the 810-space Marlands will go up by as much as 50p, bringing a two-hour stay to £2 and an eight-hour stay to £14.

Councillor Matt Dean, Cabinet member for environment and transport, said: “We have done everything we can to keep parking prices as low as we can while at the same time maintaining and improving parking facilities in the city.”

He claimed parking charges remained competitive for a city of Southampton’s size and added surplus parking income – £3.5m last year on total income of £10.8m – was invested back into parking and roads.

As part of its planning permission Ikea was told to bring the charging regime for its 900-space multi-storey car park in line with those nearby. Prices will be the same as WestQuay Shopping Centre, which is not changing its tariffs.

Click HERE for a full list of the new car parking charges.