Blue badge holders park free on Stevenage's streets but pay full price in council car parks, unless they buy the £65 annual pass. Sundays cost £2.50.
Stevenage has twelve council car parks, four resident permit zones and two sets of on-street bays, and the rules are not the same in any two of them. A blue badge parks free on the street for as long as you like, and pays the full rate in the multi-storey. Sunday is free kerbside and £2.50 in the car park. Five hours on the street costs £14.00 and five hours in the car park behind it costs £7.10.
Every tariff below came from Stevenage Borough Council’s own car park pages on 1 September 2026, one page per car park, each linked beside its figures.
The blue badge trap
This is the single thing most likely to cost you money, and the council states it at the foot of every car park page:
“Normal fees apply Bank holidays and to Blue badge holders without a seasonal pass.”
So:
- On the street, a blue badge parks free. In the town centre pay and display bays and at the Lister Hospital bays, vehicles displaying a blue badge park “for free, for as long as they need” (Pay and Display Parking).
- In a council car park, a blue badge pays the full advertised rate. There is no concession at the barrier.
- Unless you buy the pass. A Blue Badge season pass costs £65 a year and covers every council car park in the town, including both railway car parks. It runs annually and is renewed on 1 April, and you upload both sides of your badge and a utility bill each year (Car Parks Season Pass).
At £65 a year against £7.10 for one all-day stay, the pass pays for itself in ten visits.
Blue badge holders also get one resident parking permit free of charge in the four permit zones.
The car parks and what they cost
Town centre, short stay. Same tariff in all three, and all three take card only.
| Stay | The Forum | Westgate multi-storey | St George’s Way multi-storey |
|---|---|---|---|
| 30 minutes | not offered | £1.20 | £1.20 |
| 1 hour | £2.30 | £2.30 | £2.30 |
| 2 hours | £3.50 | £3.50 | £3.50 |
| 3 hours | £4.70 | £4.70 | £4.70 |
| 5 hours | £6.00 | £6.00 | £6.00 |
| Over 5 hours | £7.10 | £7.10 | £7.10 |
| Overnight | £2.60 | £2.60 | £2.60 |
| Sunday | £2.50 | £2.50 | £2.50 |
Daytime charging runs 7am to 7pm at the Forum (300 spaces, off Fairlands Way, SG1 1ES) and Westgate (364 spaces, SG1 1QR), and from 6am at St George’s Way (996 spaces, SG1 1EP), which is the biggest car park in the town. The Forum and St George’s Way have electric car charge points.
Town centre, all day. Three car parks charge a flat rate whatever your stay.
| Car park | Weekday daytime | Saturday daytime | Overnight | Sunday |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Southgate, 211 spaces | £7.10 (6am to 7pm) | £7.10 | £2.60 | £2.60 |
| Danesgate, 76 spaces | £10.50 (6am to 6pm) | £7.10 | £2.60 | £2.60 |
| Daneshill, 66 spaces | £10.50 (6am to 6pm) | £7.10 | £2.60 | £2.60 |
Danesgate and Daneshill are the most expensive weekday parking in the town centre, and their tariff boards are self-contradictory. Both pages list “Monday to Friday between 6am and 6pm, £10.50” and, on the next line, “Monday to Friday between 8:30am and 6pm, £7.10”. The two windows overlap, and the council does not say which applies to a driver arriving at 9am. Budget for £10.50 and ask at the machine.
Old Town. Cheaper, and one of them starts free.
| Car park | Mon to Sat daytime | Evening and Sunday |
|---|---|---|
| Church Lane North, 52 spaces | first hour free, then £2.10 for 2 hours, £3.00 for 3, £4.00 over 3 | £1.10 |
| Primett Road North, 120 spaces | £1.50 for 1 hour, £2.10 for 2, £3.00 for 3, £4.00 over 3 | £1.10 |
| Primett Road South, 190 spaces | £4.00 flat Monday to Friday; Saturday priced by the hour as above | £1.10 |
Daytime charging in all three runs 6am to 4pm, which is earlier than the town centre. The £1.10 evening rate covers 4pm to 6am on weekdays and runs right through from Saturday afternoon to Monday morning.
Church Lane South (39 spaces) is not open to casual parking at all. It is season ticket holders only, 24 hours a day, at £55 a month.
The station. Both railway car parks charge by a 4am to 4am day, and the fees accumulate.
| Stay | Railway North | Railway South |
|---|---|---|
| Up to 6 hours, Mon to Sat | £7.80 | Saturday £7.80 |
| 6 to 24 hours, Mon to Sat | £12.00 | Monday to Friday £12.00 |
| Sunday, up to 24 hours | £4.50 | £4.50 |
Railway North is the newer of the two, with 627 spaces, 30 blue badge bays, 30 electric vehicle bays and 80 secure bike spaces run by Spokesafe through its own app. Railway South, on Lytton Way, has 123 spaces and none marked for blue badge holders. Both work on number plate recognition: approach the barrier slowly and it lifts once the camera reads your plate.
Every council car park takes card only. There is no cash machine on any site.
Where you can park free
The Old Town streets. Free on-street bays run on the High Street and the roads around it, at Bell Lane, Church Lane, Drapers Way and Primett Road. Five disabled bays are marked on the High Street itself.
The catch is the return restriction, and it applies to every free bay: no return within four hours, except for a valid blue badge. So you cannot move round the corner and start again.
Maximum stay of three hours:
- High Street, south of the Letchmore Road and Stanmore Road junction
- Walkern Road, between Church Lane and High Street
- Primett Road
- Drapers Way
Maximum stay of two hours:
- High Street, north of the Drapers Way junction
- Bell Lane
- Basils Road, between Church Lane and High Street
Church Lane North car park gives you the first hour free, Monday to Saturday between 6am and 4pm. It is the only council car park in Stevenage that does.
The town centre streets after 8pm, and all day Sunday. The on-street bays at Danestrete, Marshgate, Southgate, The Quadrant, Swingate and behind Westgate are chargeable Monday to Saturday 8am to 8pm, and free at every other time including Sundays.
Near the Lister Hospital, before 7:30am, after 7:30pm and on Sundays. The pay and display bays in Corey’s Mill Lane and North Road are free outside those hours.
Where it looks free but is not
Sunday, in a council car park. The kerb is free on a Sunday. The car park is not. Sunday costs £2.50 at the Forum, Westgate and St George’s Way, £2.60 at Southgate, Danesgate and Daneshill, £1.10 in the Old Town car parks and £4.50 at the station.
Bank holidays, everywhere off-street. Normal fees apply on every bank holiday in every council car park.
A long stay on the town centre street. On-street pay and display is priced to move you on, and it gets punishing after five hours.
| Stay | Town centre on-street | Nearest multi-storey |
|---|---|---|
| 30 minutes | £1.25 | £1.20 |
| 1 hour | £2.50 | £2.30 |
| 2 hours | £3.80 | £3.50 |
| 3 hours | £5.00 | £4.70 |
| 4 hours | £6.50 | not offered |
| 5 hours | £8.00 | £6.00 |
| Over 5 hours | £14.00 | £7.10 |
The street is dearer at every step, and at six hours it is almost exactly double. If you are staying past five hours, walk the extra minute into Westgate or St George’s Way.
The Lister Hospital streets, past three hours. The longest you can stay in the Corey’s Mill Lane and North Road bays is three hours, at £2.30 for one hour, £3.60 for two and £5.40 for three. If you need longer, the council points you at the pay-on-foot car park inside the hospital site.
Two car parks that are shut
Do not drive to either.
Swingate car park closed on Monday 7 October 2024 so the neighbouring Swingate House site could be developed under the SG1 town centre masterplan, delivering 261 homes and a ground-floor café. The council said at the time it expected the closure to last “at least two years” (Stevenage Borough Council, 17 September 2024). It has not announced a reopening date. The access spur road went with it.
The Stevenage Swimming Centre car park closed on Sunday 12 April 2026 for the second phase of site preparation for the new Sports and Leisure Centre, which is being built on the car park itself, on St George’s Way. The Swimming Centre stays open, through the main doors (Swimming Centre car park closure FAQs).
Resident permits: only four zones
For a town of Stevenage’s size the permit map is small. There are four parking permit areas, and everywhere else in the borough is uncontrolled.
| Zone | Controlled hours | First permit, digital, per year | Max per household |
|---|---|---|---|
| Old Town (OT) | 9:30am to 3pm, Mon to Fri | £40 | 3 |
| Burymead (B) | 8:30am to 5:30pm, Mon to Fri | £52 | 4 |
| Green Street (GS) | 8:30am to 5:30pm, Mon to Sat | £62 | 3 |
| Ingleside Drive (ID) | 8:30am to 5:30pm, Mon to Sat | £62 | 3 |
Prices are from the Resident Parking Permit page, last updated 31 December 2025. Six-month permits are available at roughly 60 per cent of the annual price, and a paper permit costs more than a digital one in every zone: £45 against £40 in the Old Town, £56 against £52 in Burymead, £68 against £62 in Green Street and Ingleside Drive.
Second and subsequent permits cost more. In Green Street and Ingleside Drive a second vehicle is £88 digital and a third £114. In Burymead a second is £78, a third £104 and a fourth £130. In the Old Town a second is £66 and a third £92.
Visitor vouchers come in books of 20, and the price follows the zone: £10 digital or £15 paper in the Old Town and Burymead, £15 digital or £20 paper in Green Street and Ingleside Drive. Each voucher covers one vehicle on one day. No property gets more than 12 books of 20 in any 12 months, and the permit team cannot issue more once you hit the cap. Paper vouchers never expire; digital ones must be used within a year.
A caring visitor permit is free, for 24 months at a time. Transfers, duplicates and refunds cost £10 to administer.
One local quirk in the evidence rules. Everywhere in Stevenage you can prove residence with a driving licence, council tax bill, recent utility bill, bank statement or tenancy agreement. In Baker Street, Bell Lane, Drapers Way, High Street, Middle Row and Primett Road, the council will only accept a council tax bill, to stop businesses claiming resident permits.
Allow up to two weeks for an application. The permit is provisionally issued from the next working day while it is assessed, so you will not be ticketed in the meantime.
Season passes for the car parks
| Pass | Covers | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Railway | every council car park in Stevenage | £175 a month |
| Town Centre | Danesgate, Daneshill, Southgate, St George’s Way, Westgate | £100 a month |
| Old Town | Primett Road North and South, Church Lane North, Church Lane South | £55 a month |
| Blue Badge | every council car park in Stevenage | £65 a year |
Passes are not physical tickets. They are monthly direct debit subscriptions tied to your number plate, read by the barrier cameras. You have to upload a completed direct debit mandate before the online application will go through, except for the Blue Badge pass, which is billed annually and does not need one.
A pass can be suspended for up to six months for a £36 administration fee. A lost or damaged Old Town season ticket also costs £36 to replace. Refunds only cover whole months paid and unused.
Fines, and how to pay
A penalty charge notice in Stevenage is £70 or £50 depending on how serious the contravention is, halved if you pay within 14 days (Parking Enforcement). On-street enforcement is run by the council with East Herts Council and the contractor Apcoa.
You no longer need a specific app. Stevenage has gone live on the National Parking Platform, so RingGo, JustPark and the council’s own provider PayByPhone all work on on-street bays. Enter the location code in whichever you already have.
Disabled bays outside your home
Two different authorities, depending on where the bay would go.
- On a public road, apply to Hertfordshire County Council on 0300 123 4047.
- On a council-owned hardstanding away from the highway, apply to Stevenage Borough Council on 01438 242242.
Two things the council says that are worth reading twice. Residential disabled bays in Stevenage are advisory courtesy bays and are not enforceable by civil enforcement officers, except in a handful of historic cases. And the bay will not be for your sole use: any blue badge holder can park in it.
The same page also contradicts itself on how many bays a street can have. In one paragraph the council says it “normally permits only one in every ten parking spaces to be marked for disabled use only”. In the list of reasons for refusal, a few lines further down, the limit is “the maximum ratio of one in seven existing parking spaces” (Parking bays for Blue Badge holders). Marking out a bay is free but can take eight weeks or more, and longer in autumn and winter because road paint needs dry weather.
Blue badges themselves are issued by Hertfordshire County Council, not the borough.
What changes next
From Monday 19 October 2026 the council has made orders that change parking in two places:
- Town centre on-street bays in Danestrete, Southgate, Swingate, The Quadrant and Westgate lose paper tickets and move to pay-by-plate machines and pay by phone. New paid bays open in Eastgate near Market Place. The prices do not change.
- Old Town: two-hour bays with a resident permit exception on the High Street between Gates Way and Trinity Road, double yellow lines on Gates Way, a loading bay outside The Old Bank, a disabled bay near the Millennium Gardens, and paid stays over two hours in Ditchmore Lane.
We have covered it in full: Stevenage parking changes from 19 October.
More Stevenage local information: roadworks and travel, bin collection days, council tax bands.
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