WORK was expected to start in Alton this week on the installation of state-of-the-art, solar-powered car parking meters, designed to give drivers more ways to pay and display.

It is part of a £110,000 refurbishment programme that will see the replacement of 27 out-of-date and obsolete coin-only meters in 13 East Hampshire District Council-owned car parks in Alton and Petersfield.

The new chip-and-pin Parkeon meters will allow people to pay by debit and credit card, and include Wave contactless payment as well as coins, but, as is the case at the moment, they will not give change.

They will, however, make data-gathering easier to give the council an insight into parking trends and usage.

It should be noted that the card-processing company will administer a 22p handling charge per transaction when payment is made by debit or credit card.

When agreeing the project in February, district council cabinet members were told that the existing meters were more than 10 years old and that parts were no longer available to repair them.

East Hampshire District Council has been testing a new meter in Petersfield’s Central car park prior to extending the scheme across its car parks in the district.

Richard Millard, the district council’s portfolio holder for commercial contracts, said: “Our car parks are a vital part of our infrastructure so it is very important that we keep up to date with technology.

“The new meters will make parking in council-owned car parks much quicker and easier, ensuring we give people the best and easiest experience whether they are out shopping, on a business trip, or visiting as tourists.”

This is a joint project between the district council and Havant Borough Council, which is to install and pay for an additional 46 new machines across car parks in Havant.

Tony Briggs, Havant Borough Council’s deputy leader, said: “These modern, up-to-date meters are great because they allow people to pay in a variety of ways, using cash or card, and mean that residents won’t need to rifle through their pockets looking for change to park in our car parks.”

In Alton, where a lot of drivers are resorting to on-street parking rather than using the car park, the fear is that parking charges will rise to pay for the new meters. But East Hampshire District Council has confirmed that there are no plans to increase parking charges.