FEES and charges including car parking and cinema tickets in Welwyn Hatfield will rise from January.

Cabinet members at Welwyn Hatfield Council agreed the move last night, along with the 20 per cent VAT increase proposed by the Government.

That means that from January 4 2011, charges for car parking, pre-planning application advice, planning permission for advertisements, Estate Management Scheme applications, animal licensing, street trading consent, some environmental health services, Campus West and RollerCity tickets, mini bus hire, lunch clubs, cemetery fees, bulky waste collections, dog warden services will all rise.

Cinema tickets for Campus West will jump by 60p for adults and children, with car parking at Hunters Bridge, Campus West and Osborn Way increasing by 10p for the first hour, and daily parking at Campus East rising by 20p.

The charges have been introduced at the same time as the VAT increase so as to minimise the administrative burden, according to cabinet papers.

No further charges, therefore, will be introduced at the start of the new financial year in April.

Councillor Alan Franey, executive member for resources, said: “The council has increased the base rate of some fees and charges in order to boost income in light of recent budgetary issues.

The council has identified �1.7 million of savings on its budget for 2011-12, with the expectation of further savings being required following the Coalition Government’s spending review. On top of this, the council froze Council Tax in 2010-11 with an expectation that this will continue for at least another two years. Income from investments has also been poor due to low interest rates.

“As a result it is regrettably necessary to raise fees and charges.”