Drivers in Norwich now have to pay more to park in about a dozen city centre car parks.

Members of Norwich City Council agreed last month that the cost to park in the car parks which it owns would go up from today (Monday, November 13).

The change means drivers now have to pay an extra 10p an hour at the majority of the council-owned car parks.

Evening charges have gone up by 20p from £2 to £2.20, with multi-storey car parks, such as St Andrews Car Park, Rose Lane and St Giles affected, along with surface car parks such as Rouen Road and Queens Road.

Tickets last went up in November last year and the hike means parking charges will add £95,000 over a full financial year to City Hall's coffers, on top of the projected £5.65m.

Increases have already been introduced for on-street parking - where there are pay and display meters by the side of the road - although that is the first increase since 2013.

People now have to pay a 50p up front charge, followed by a further 50p for each 15 minutes for the most central spaces and 30p per 15 minutes for spaces further out from the centre.

When the increases were agreed, Mike Stonard, the city council's cabinet member for sustainable and inclusive growth, defended the extra costs and hit back at critics of recent changes in the city centre.

He said: 'We saw an extra 200,000 visitors to the city with the tunnel of lights last Christmas and figures like that are really, really healthy.

'If you look at our vacancy rates through the recession, they were really low, especially when compared to some towns and cities. The city centre is growing and vibrant.'

Mr Stonard said the council had invested in car parks, with St Giles refurbished and the award-winning new multi-storey car park in Rose Lane built and opened, while the removal of through traffic had improved areas such as Westlegate and All Saints Green.

He said: 'We have created much more pleasant environments and we are making sure people can park in good quality facilities is close to the city centre as possible.'

On the parking increase, he said it helped keep the council's car parks competitive and generated money to invest in facilities.