In reply to petegunn:
It's what happens when we are totally useless about standing up for ourselves, we get taken for a ride. And those ridden most of all are the locals, 10, 20, 30 minutes away who no longer go there for a quick wander as it charges (same for all the forestry commission carparks too.) I don't mind one offs against tourists, but for a local leisure carpark it's appalling.
(They tried this with Aussie surf spots once and the locals filled the machines with epoxy resin until they gave up. Just a suggestion for others like me who think this is moronic and the act of idle local councillors.)