Why you’ll now have to use old coins to park in Sheffield

Sheffield Council said it was facing a bill of at least £70,000 to make changes to its pay and display machines after the Treasury introduced new 5p and 10p coins made of different metals last February.

Although the Government said the move would save the Royal Mint around £8m a year by substituting steel for cupro-nickel in the coins, councils and car park operators are facing an estimated bill of £40m.

Yesterday, a spokesman for Sheffield Council said the machines would be modified to accept the new coins, which are 0.2mm thicker, on a phased basis but added that the process could take up to three years.

The spokesman added: “We are aware of the problems that some motorists are facing when trying to use new coins in the city’s car parks, and we are working on the problem.

“But given the financial pressures the council is facing, it is not possible to spend £70,000 on modifying all the machines all at once, so we plan to make the changes on a phased basis.

“In the meantime, we are advising people to try and use old coins, which will register in the machines, or to use the cashless system on their mobile phone, which was introduced recently.

“People who put coins into the machines will not lose money. If they are unable to make up the right amount because some coins won’t be accepted they will be able to press a button to get their money back.”

Earlier this year the Local Government Association, which represents councils across the country, called for the Government to help local authorities with the costs of modifying meters and parking machines.

But a spokesman said yesterday: “That request was refused, meaning that councils have had to foot the bill themselves, or in some cases try and find a way around the problems motorists are currently facing.

“This obviously comes at a difficult time for councils as they try to balance the books and pay for essential services, but many authorities like Sheffield are doing the best they can in the circumstances.”

Yesterday Calderdale Council said it had now completed the project to alter its machines, while Leeds Council also said it will have to replace around 250 machines at a cost of almost £17,000.

In a survey carried out by the LGA last year, Sheffield said it was one of the worst affected authorities in the country, with other councils reportedly facing machine modification bills of around £10,000. However, as the Yorkshire Post revealed last September, other Yorkshire authorities are facing huge bills to update their machines, with Kirklees set to spend £20,000.

As well as councils, members of the Automatic Vending Association (AVA) and British Parking Association (BPA) which represents independent car park owners, are also being hit.

The AVA said it was anticipating a cost of £25m to its members as engineers were expected to visit 462,000 machines across the country to either upgrade the software or replace the coin mechanisms.

And the BPA, which said it represents some local authorities as well as private operators, said members could face a bill of £15m for altering machines.

Earlier this year, scientists also raised health fears about the new coins, claiming they could aggravate skin allergies because of their nickel plating.

Leading dermatologists, including David Gawkrodger of Sheffield’s Royal Hallamshire Hospital, warned the move could cause problems for people who have nickel allergies. Up to 10 per cent of the population, predominantly women, are thought to be affected by nickel allergy.