Parking at the reserve is currently £3 per day, it goes up to £5 on Monday 25 March.
Nottinghamshire Wildlife Trust, the charity which owns and cares for Attenborough Nature Reserve, off Barton Lane, Attenborough, is set to introduce a new flexible car parking tariff at the much-loved site from Monday 25 March.
The new tariff will be the first change to parking fees since compulsory charging was introduced in 2021 and comes in response to rising costs across all areas of the charity’s work.
According to the trust, parking charges are an important sustainable income stream for the charity, which manages over 1400 hectares of nature reserves across the county, but rather than simply increasing the current flat-rate charge, the Trust says it has developed a new flexible tariff which should mean that most visitors will pay no more than they do currently.
Speaking about the changes, Head of Communications Erin McDaid said:
“There’s no escaping that with increased costs across all areas of our work, from caring for nature reserves such as Attenborough or supporting volunteers and enabling people to connect with nature, we need to generate more income.
“However, we recognise that everyone else is feeling the pressure of the Cost-of-Living Crisis too, which is why we’ve developed a flexible tariff that should mean most of our regular visitors will pay no more than they do currently – but visitors staying for longer periods will make a greater contribution.”
Registered Nottinghamshire Wildlife Trust members, staff and regular Attenborough Nature Reserve volunteers will continue to be exempt from parking charges.
Erin added: “These decisions are never easy, but we’ve worked hard to find the right balance which boosts our sustainable income whilst recognising that our visitors are feeling financial pressures too.
“We’ve also benchmarked our charges to ensure that they are fair as well as flexible.
“The support of visitors through car parking fees and spending in our cafe and shop – is hugely appreciated and we’re confident that the majority of visitors will appreciate that we can’t maintain our nature reserves and welcome visitors without adequate funds.”
Flexible tariff rates (from 25th March 2024) will be:
Up to 30 Minutes – free
Up to 2 hours – £3.00
Up to 4 hours – £4.00
Over 4 hours/all day – £5.00
The new tariffs will be clearly displayed on site and on the parking machines from Monday 25 March.
These charges will apply 24/7, 365 days a year, including bank holidays and outside the visitor centre opening hours.
