Drivers in Wirral will face new parking fees in many parts of the borough after a huge decision taken last night.

Wirral Council's Decision Review Committee failed to reach a verdict on whether to bring in various new fees and create a standard rate of £1 per hour at Wirral's council-run car parks, with a £5 maximum per day, in a meeting on July 29.

However, the committee reconvened yesterday evening and voted by seven members to four to bring the new charges and the new standard rate in.

Five Labour councillors, Green councillor Pat Cleary and Liberal Democrat Chris Carubia voted in favour, while four Conservatives voted against.

This means that off-street car parks which used to be free in places including Bromborough, Bebington, Irby, Hoylake and New Brighton, will now charge.

Coastal car parks which are also currently free were included in the plans, again this included sites in New Brighton and Hoylake, as well as Leasowe and West Kirby.

While there must be a period of consultation before the new charges come in, the £1 per hour standard rate is set to be implemented across Wirral within weeks.

Conservative group leader Cllr Tom Anderson tried to add an amendment to allow for free parking for the first 20 minutes.

But Labour councillor Samantha Frost suggested this may be impractical after seeking advice from council officers and the idea was ultimately defeated.

A key part of the meeting focused on money.

In March's budget, which was voted for by all political parties, Wirral Council's Environment and Transport Committee was tasked with raising £1m from creating more parking charges and increasing current fees.

A way of doing this was then voted for by that committee and ultimately voted through at tonight's Decision Review Committee, held after the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats 'called in' the decision.

Those in favour of the new charges had claimed that parking was currently costing the council money and was in effect a subsidy to those who used the council's car parks by those who did not and those who did not own a car at all.

Speaking at tonight's meeting, Tory councillor Andrew Gardner asked how much car parks cost the council to run in comparison to how much they make.

Council officer Simon Fox said that on 2019's figures the authority raised £1.8m from charges and that this did not pay for the upkeep of car parks and other associated costs.

If a further £1m was achieved, he thought this would mean the service could break even and the £1m loss to the council prevented.

Labour councillor Liz Grey stressed the point on cost in her remarks.

Cllr Grey said: "Parking is not free.

"Much of the money to maintain car parks and surrounding infrastructure currently comes from other budgets, budgets that pay for our leisure centres, our public toilets, our golf land, our art gallery and our lollipop men and women.

"These are under pressure now and that can be reduced by making car parking pay for itself at rates that are still well below our neighbouring local authorities.

"Not everyone uses our car park spaces and why should they subsidise them by having other services they need taken away? This is a matter of social justice."

Agreeing with her, Green Party councillor Pat Cleary disputed the idea that parking charges hurt local businesses.

He criticised Conservative councillor Simon Mountney for quoting a council report saying small businesses would suffer a 30% reduction in footfall as a result of new parking charges.

The Green group leader pointed out that the report added any drop off would recover over a 12-month period.

He said that evidence proved there were more important factors, such as the availability of parking and the safety and security of parking sites, which influenced shopping habits more than parking fees.

Indeed, the Green group on the council has long argued that there is also a need to have 'push factors' to get people out of their cars and onto public transport, or using methods of 'active travel' such as cycling or walking, given the climate emergency.

However, Cllr Mountney said new parking charges will cause businesses to close and added that the bill for that will fall on the council.

The Tory member also thought it was unfair that residents in some areas would find it harder to park near their houses as people sought to avoid car parks which charged.

Liberal Democrat councillor Phil Gilchrist said businesses in Bromborough could be "easily missed out" in the future as people tried to avoid charges, with other options featuring free parking such as supermarkets easily available.

He warned the committee of these "unintended consequences" the decision might have.

Several Conservative members brought up the issue of practicality.

Cllr Gardner said officers had acknowledged there would be costs associated with setting up parking charges and running the consultation process for new charges.

He said the logic, of raising £1m through this move, did not stack up.

However, the motion to increase parking charges and bring more in across Wirral was voted through and will now be implemented.