London Road stops charging at 2pm, Ebley Wharf charges on Sundays, and Stonehouse long stay now needs a zero-value ticket. Every Stroud district car park tariff.
Stroud District Council lists 35 car parks. Seven of them charge, all seven are in Stroud town, and no two of them share the same charging hours. Everywhere else in the district you park free, but one of those free car parks will still issue a penalty notice if you skip a step most drivers do not know about.
Every tariff below comes from the council’s own charges page, last reviewed on 13 July 2026, and from the sealed parking orders. All of it was checked on 1 September 2026.
The seven car parks that charge, and when they stop
The single most useful thing to know: the two London Road car parks stop charging at 2pm, four hours earlier than Cheapside or Parliament Street. Park at the surface car park at 2pm on a Saturday and you pay nothing.
| Car park | Charging hours | 1hr | 2hr | 3hr | 4hr | Over 4hr |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cheapside, Bath Place | Mon to Sat, 8am to 5pm | £0.90 | £1.50 | £2.00 | £2.20 | £3.00 (7hr) |
| London Road Surface | Mon to Sat, 8am to 2pm | £0.90 | £1.50 | £2.00 | £2.20 | £3.00 |
| London Road multi-storey | Mon to Sat, 8am to 2pm | £0.90 | £1.50 | £2.00 | £2.20 | £3.00 |
| Parliament Street | Mon to Sat, 8am to 5pm | £0.90 | £1.50 | £2.00 | £2.20 | £3.00 |
| Ebley Wharf | Mon to Fri, 8am to 5pm (see below) | £0.90 | £1.50 | £2.00 | £2.20 | £3.00 |
| Church Street | Mon to Sat, 8am to 5pm | £1.80 | £2.60 | £4.80 | n/a | n/a |
| Rowcroft, Merrywalks | Mon to Sat, 8am to 5pm | £1.80 | £2.60 | £4.80 | n/a | n/a |
Church Street and Rowcroft are the short-stay pair, capped at three hours with no return within an hour. They cost exactly double what Cheapside costs for the first hour and more than twice as much for three.
Cheapside is also the only one that lets you leave a car for days: £3.60 for 24 hours, £7.20 for 48 and £10.80 for 72, with a 72-hour maximum. Every other charging car park caps out at 23 hours. (Stroud District Council, Car parks and charges in the district)
Ebley Wharf is the trap. It is the only district car park that charges on a Sunday. A variation order that came into force on 17 March 2026 redesignated it as a long-stay car park operating at all hours. The hourly scale in the table applies Monday to Friday, 8am to 5pm. Outside that:
- £1.00 overnight, 5pm to 8am, Monday to Thursday
- £3.00 for the whole weekend, 5pm Friday to 8am Monday
Bank holidays are free there. Sundays are not. (Ebley Wharf Variation Order No.2 2026)
Two other things to plan around:
- The London Road multi-storey closes from 9pm to 6.30am Monday to Saturday and all day Sunday. Leave a car in it on a Saturday night and you cannot collect it until Monday morning. Height limit 2.1m.
- Cheapside and Ebley Wharf have a 2.05m height restriction, low enough to stop a roof box or a van.
The council lists coins, contactless and pay by phone at Cheapside, Church Street, Ebley Wharf, London Road Surface and Rowcroft, and gives a MiPermit code for all seven: Cheapside 704007, Church Street 704001, Rowcroft 704002, London Road multi-storey 704003, Parliament Street 704005, London Road Surface 704006 and Ebley Wharf 704011.
An eighth car park, the London Road Service Yard, is permit holders only.
Everywhere else in the district is free
The council publishes no tariff for any of its other car parks. They are governed by a maximum stay and a no-return period instead, and the March 2026 parking order confirms that Painswick, for example, sits in a schedule that sets a maximum stay and nothing else.
| Car park | Type | Bays |
|---|---|---|
| Cainscross, Westward Road | Long stay, 48hr max | 114 |
| Stratford Park, Stratford Road | Long stay, 12hr max, open 6.30am to 10.30pm | 311 |
| Painswick, Stamages Lane | Long stay, 23hr max | 56 |
| Stonehouse, High Street | Split long stay 9hr and short stay 4hr | 94 |
| Dursley May Lane, Hill Road | Long stay, 23hr max | 47 |
| Dursley Castle Street | Short stay, 3hr max 8am to 6pm | 53 |
| Dursley Castle Street / Parsonage Street | Short stay, 1hr max 8am to 6pm | 24 |
| Dursley Water Street | Short stay, 3hr max, 14hr overnight | 15 |
| Nailsworth Old Market East | Short stay, 2hr max, 14hr overnight | 44 |
| Nailsworth Old Market West Short Stay | Short stay, 2hr max, 14hr overnight | 19 |
| Nailsworth Old Market Lay-by | Short stay, 2hr max, 14hr overnight | 24 |
| Nailsworth Bus Station, Old Market | Short stay, 2hr max 8am to 6pm | 10 |
| Nailsworth Old Market West Long Stay | Long stay, 23hr max | 33 |
| Nailsworth New Market Road | Long stay, 23hr max | 33 |
| Nailsworth Town Hall | Short stay, 4hr max 8am to 6pm | 21 |
| Nailsworth Comrades, Old Bristol Road | Short stay, 4hr max 8am to 6pm | 13 |
| Wotton-under-Edge, The Chipping short stay | Short stay, 3hr max, 14hr overnight | 36 |
| Wotton-under-Edge, The Chipping long stay | Long stay, 23hr max | 36 |
| Wotton-under-Edge, Potters Pond | Long stay, 23hr max | 23 |
| Minchinhampton, Friday Street | Long stay, 23hr max | 33 |
| King Stanley, High Street | Long stay, 23hr max | 38 |
| Cam, Chapel Street | Long stay, 23hr max | 24 |
| Berkeley Library, School Lane | Long stay, 23hr max | 29 |
| Berkeley, Marybrook Street | Long stay, 23hr max | 24 |
| Horsley, The Street | Long stay, 23hr max | 12 |
| Randwick, Church Road | Long stay, 23hr max | 10 |
| Arlingham, Passage Road | Long stay, 23hr max | 10 |
Electric vehicle charging bays are in seven of the district’s car parks. London Road Surface has six. Dursley May Lane, Nailsworth New Market Road and Painswick have four each. Stonehouse, Wotton Potters Pond and Berkeley Marybrook Street have two each. (Car parks and charges in the district)
Stonehouse: free, but you still need a ticket
This one is new and it is exactly the sort of change that generates penalty notices.
Since 6 February 2026, a driver using the long stay section of Stonehouse High Street car park must take a zero-value pay and display ticket from the machine and display it for the whole stay. The order leaves no room for doubt: “indication of use of the concessionary free period of parking at Stonehouse car park long stay area can only be authenticated by the display of a ticket issued at zero monetary value.”
The same order cut the long-stay maximum from 23 hours to 9 hours, and cut the short stay area’s hours of operation from all hours to 8am to 6pm. (Sealed Order, Stonehouse Car Park Variation No.1 2026)
One correction worth flagging. The council’s own consultation page says the order “took effect on 6 February 2025”. The sealed order says it comes into operation on 6 February 2026, and was given under the common seal that day. The 2025 date on the web page is wrong. (Consultation page)
Blue badge holders park free in any bay
The rule applies across the district and it is broader than the usual one: “Blue Badge holders can park for free in any parking bay not just the allocated spaces.”
Motorcycles are free everywhere too.
Designated disabled bays are thin on the ground outside the town, though. Church Street has five, Dursley Castle Street / Parsonage Street four, Stratford Park four, Nailsworth Old Market East three, Stonehouse three and Dursley May Lane three. Thirteen car parks have no designated disabled bays at all:
- Arlingham, Berkeley Library and Berkeley Marybrook Street
- Horsley and Randwick
- Minchinhampton Friday Street
- Nailsworth Comrades, New Market Road, Old Market Lay-by, Old Market West short stay and Old Market West long stay
- Wotton-under-Edge Chipping long stay and Potters Pond
Blue badges themselves are issued by Gloucestershire County Council, not the district. (Stroud District Council, Blue badge scheme)
Resident permits are a county matter, and they went up in April
On-street parking in Stroud is Gloucestershire County Council’s responsibility, so resident permits do not come from the district. From April 2026 the charges are:
- £80 a year for a household’s first resident permit, or £6.66 a month
- £160 a year for a second permit, or £13.33 a month
- £50 and £100 for cars in Vehicle Excise Duty band A
- £43 and £86 for motorcycles under 300cc
- £16.20 per set of 10 visitor vouchers, £1.62 each, capped at 50 a household a year
Permits are virtual, tied to a registration, and issued per council tax reference number, so you need your council tax number to apply. A household can hold two. One voucher covers a full weekend. (Gloucestershire County Council, Permit terms and conditions, April 2026; Resident parking permit information)
Stroud station: two car parks, two different prices
Both station car parks are run by APCOA, and the cheaper one is not the one nearest the platform.
| Car park | Spaces | Mon to Fri | After 4pm | Sat and Sun |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stroud Station CP1 | 63 (2 disabled) | £5.20 | £3.10 | £3.10 |
| Stroud Station CP2 | 80 (2 disabled) | £4.50 | £3.10 | £3.10 |
Bank holidays are charged at the normal rate at the station, which is the opposite of the council car parks. A commuter who assumes the station follows the council’s rule pays for the assumption.
Season tickets are sold monthly, quarterly and annually through APCOA’s own portal. (APCOA, Stroud Station CP1; Stroud Station CP2)
If you get a ticket
You have two chances to challenge a district penalty charge notice. An informal challenge must be made before a Notice to Owner is issued and within 14 days of the PCN. If you neither pay nor appeal within 28 days, the council sends a Notice to Owner, and from that point you can make a formal representation. (Parking fines)
Tickets are not transferable and are only valid in the car park that issued them. No vehicle over 3.5 tonnes, no overnight camping, no vehicle maintenance.
More Stroud local information: bin collection days, council tax bands and roadworks and travel.
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