Parking in Horsham: every town centre car park compared, 2026 charges, the cheap Sunday and bank holiday rates, season tickets and the blue badge rules.

Parking in Horsham costs anything from £1.20 to £3.50 for the same two hours depending on which car park you pull into, and the gap gets far wider once you stay all day. There are thirteen council car parks in the town centre alone, three of them multi storey, plus village car parks in Billingshurst, Storrington, Pulborough and Southwater. This guide compares them all at 2026 prices, explains the unusually cheap Sunday and bank holiday rates, and covers season tickets, day passes and blue badge parking, with each figure linked back to the council page it came from.

All the car parks below are run by Horsham District Council unless stated otherwise. On street parking is a West Sussex County Council responsibility, which matters for the blue badge rules later on.

The quick answer

For a short stop, Pavilions is the cheapest in town at £1.20 for up to two hours. For a full working day, Forum is the one to use at £11.00, and a Forum day pass brings that down to about £5 a day. For shopping, Swan Walk puts you inside the centre with 900 spaces. And on Sundays and bank holidays almost every surface car park charges a flat £3.90 all day, with charging hours cut to 9am until 5pm.

Horsham town centre car parks compared

Horsham District Council town centre car parks, 2026 charges
Car park2 hoursLongest stay, Mon to SatSun and bank hol, all dayBest for
Pavilions£1.20£19.20 (8hr+)£3.90Cheapest short stop
New Street£1.40£2.00 (3hr max)£3.90Cheapest few hours
Forum (Blackhorse Way)£2.20£11.00 (8hr+)£4.30All day and commuters
North Parade£2.20£3.30 (3hr max)£3.90Short stay, north side
North Street£2.70£5.40 (4hr max)£3.90EV charging
Swan Walk£2.80£14.40 (8hr+)£5.50Shopping, 900 spaces
Jubilee£2.80£5.80 (4hr max)£3.90Small and central
Dukes Square£3.10 (Sat)£12.20 (Sat, 8hr)£3.90Season ticket holders
Denne Road£3.50£5.20 (3hr max)£3.90Motorcycles
Piries Place£3.50£17.50 (8hr+)£6.70Open 24 hours
BT Exchange£2.40 (Sat)£6.50 (Sat)£3.90Free weekday evenings
Horsham Library1hr max£1.40 (1hr max)£3.90Quick errands
Horsham Hospital£1.10£2.20 (4hr max)ClosedHospital visits

Dukes Square and BT Exchange are restricted to season ticket and permit holders on weekdays, so their two hour figures are the Saturday rates. Horsham Hospital opens Monday to Friday only.

The three multi storey car parks

Forum, Blackhorse Way (RH12 1NU): the all day option

The Forum holds 472 spaces, including 16 disabled and 12 parent and child bays, with a 2.2 metre height limit. Charges run 8am to 8pm Monday to Saturday: £2.20 up to two hours, £4.50 for four, £8.80 up to eight and £11.00 beyond eight hours. On Sundays and bank holidays it is £2.20 for two hours and £4.30 all day (Forum car park).

Levels 5 and above lock at 8pm, the rest at 10pm, and the car park opens at 6am, so it is not an overnight option.

What it means for you: at £11.00 the Forum is the cheapest all day space in the town centre, £3.40 less than Swan Walk and £6.50 less than Piries Place. If you drive in for work more than once a week, look at the day passes below before paying this rate.

Swan Walk (RH12 1AG): the shopping car park

Swan Walk is the biggest in town with 900 spaces, including 24 disabled and 20 parent and child, and it is open 24 hours a day. The height limit is a low 1.9 metres, which rules out many vans and roof boxes. Monday to Saturday charging runs 8am to 8pm, from £2.80 for two hours to £14.40 beyond eight. Sundays and bank holidays are £2.80 for two hours and £5.50 all day, and there is a £2.80 overnight tariff from 8pm to 8am on every day except Sundays and bank holidays (Swan Walk car park).

Piries Place (RH12 1NY): open around the clock

Piries Place has 516 spaces, 12 disabled bays, 11 parent and child bays, eight EV charging bays, and toilets including a Changing Places facility. It is open 24 hours a day, with a 2.1 metre height limit. It is also the most expensive: charges run 7am to 8pm Monday to Saturday from £3.50 for two hours to £17.50 beyond eight hours, with a £2.80 overnight tariff from 8pm to 7am. Sunday and bank holiday parking is £3.50 for two hours or £6.70 all day (Piries Place car park).

What it means for you: Piries Place earns its price if you need 24 hour access, an EV charger or the accessible facilities. For an ordinary shopping trip you are paying roughly £1.30 more for two hours than at the Forum a few minutes away.

The surface car parks

Pavilions on Hurst Road (RH12 2DF) has 240 spaces, five disabled bays and six EV bays, and is the value pick for short visits at £1.20 up to two hours. The tariff then climbs steeply to £10.80 for six to eight hours and £19.20 beyond, so it is a trap for anyone leaving the car all day (Pavilions car park).

New Street (RH13 5TA) is tiny at 20 spaces but the cheapest per hour anywhere in town: 90p for one hour, £1.40 for two, £2.00 for three, with a three hour maximum (New Street car park).

North Street (RH12 9SX) has 119 spaces and six EV charging bays including one accessible bay, running £1.30 for an hour up to £5.40 for four (North Street car park). Residents of parking zone A and zone E at Denne Parade can park free while actively charging between 6pm and 8am, once registered with the council.

North Parade (RH12 1AU), Jubilee (RH12 1AB) and Denne Road (RH12 1JH) are all short stay, with three or four hour maximums at £3.30, £5.80 and £5.20. Denne Road has motorcycle parking by the exit. Horsham Library (RH12 1PJ) is a one hour car park at £1.40, and Horsham Hospital (RH12 2DR) opens weekdays only, with a four hour maximum at £2.20.

BT Exchange on North Street (RH12 1RE) is permit holders only from 6am to 5pm on weekdays. After 5pm on a weekday it is free (BT Exchange car park).

When parking in Horsham is cheapest

Sundays and bank holidays. Charging hours shrink to 9am until 5pm and almost every surface car park charges a flat £3.90 for the whole day, with the multi storeys dropping to £4.30, £5.50 and £6.70. Sunday is comfortably the cheapest day to drive in, though unlike some districts nothing is free, so you do still pay.

Weekday evenings. BT Exchange is free after 5pm Monday to Friday, and Swan Walk and Piries Place both run a £2.80 overnight tariff on every day except Sundays and bank holidays. The only genuinely free council car park in the district is Lintot Square in Southwater, with a two hour maximum.

Season tickets and day passes

If you park in town regularly there are two routes, and the flexible one is usually better value.

Day passes, which the council also calls rolling season tickets, are bought in blocks of 5, 10, 15, 20, 25 or 50 days and used whenever you like, with unlimited entries and exits on a chosen day. A 50 day pass carries a 10% discount. Five days costs £28.00 at the Forum, £36.50 at Swan Walk and £44.00 at Piries Place, rising to £252.00, £328.50 and £396.00 for 50 days (day passes).

Quarterly season tickets are available in seven car parks, though the council warns availability is limited: Dukes Square, New Street and North Parade at £252.00 a quarter, Forum at £286.00, Swan Walk and Piries Place at £397.00, and Talbot Lane at £373.00 for businesses in East Street (Horsham town centre season tickets).

What it means for you: a Forum 50 day pass works out at £5.04 a day against the £11.00 daily rate, so it pays for itself in well under half its own length. A Forum quarterly season ticket at £286.00 only beats the day pass if you park more than about 57 days in the quarter.

For the villages there is also an Annual Parking Disc, which buys the maximum stay in 11 village car parks for a fixed £20 digital or £21 physical for 2026/27 (parking).

Blue badge parking

The rules split between two councils. On street, which is West Sussex County Council territory, a blue badge lets you park without payment or time limit in any pay and display bay, though never in a marked loading bay.

In council car parks, every blue badge holder can use the marked bays for the maximum stay, but free parking is narrower than people assume. You only park free if you receive the higher rate of Mobility Living Allowance, Personal Independence Payment or Attendance Allowance, and you have registered one vehicle with the council in advance through the Horsham Parking Portal. Without that registration you pay as normal and can be issued a penalty charge notice. Registration expires when the badge does, and the vehicle must not be used without the badge holder present (blue badge parking).

Parking in the villages

Outside the town, charges are far lower. Most village car parks run Monday to Saturday, 9am to 6pm, at 90p for an hour and £1.90 for up to four hours (rural car parks):

  • Billingshurst: Billingshurst Library and Six Bells on Mill Lane, Jengers Mead at 90p to £1.50 for three hours, and Myrtle Lane at £4.40 all day with a 24 hour maximum.
  • Storrington: Storrington Library on North Street, Hanover Walk, Old Mill Square (two hour maximum) and Monastery Lane (three hours).
  • Pulborough: Lower Street, four hour maximum.
  • Southwater: Lintot Square is free with a two hour maximum. Southwater Country Park charges £1.10 all day on winter weekdays, and £1.20 for an hour up to £8.00 all day at weekends and through the summer season from 1 April to 31 October.

How to pay

Every council car park machine takes cards, and most take cash, though some on street machines are cash only. You can also pay through the RingGo app on 01403 390001 using the location code shown on the signs, or through MiPermit on 0345 520 7007 in most surface car parks. The Forum, Swan Walk, Piries Place and Pavilions have barriers that take card only on exit, so for those it is worth registering for Autopay, which reads your number plate on entry and charges your card when you leave (Autopay).

Frequently asked questions

Where is the cheapest parking in Horsham town centre?

Pavilions on Hurst Road at £1.20 for up to two hours, and New Street at £1.40, are the cheapest for a short visit. For a full day the Forum at £11.00 is the cheapest, and a Forum 50 day pass cuts that to about £5.04 a day.

Is parking free in Horsham on Sundays?

No, but it is cheap. Sunday and bank holiday charging runs 9am to 5pm and almost every surface car park charges a flat £3.90 for the whole day, with the Forum at £4.30, Swan Walk at £5.50 and Piries Place at £6.70.

Where can I park all day in Horsham?

The Forum, Swan Walk and Piries Place all take all day parking, at £11.00, £14.40 and £17.50 beyond eight hours. Avoid Pavilions for a long stay: it is the cheapest for two hours but £19.20 beyond eight.

Do blue badge holders park free in Horsham car parks?

Only if you receive the higher rate of Mobility Living Allowance, PIP or Attendance Allowance and have registered a vehicle with the council in advance. Without that registration you still pay, though you can use the marked bays for the maximum stay. On street, a blue badge parks free with no time limit in any pay and display bay.

How do I pay for parking in Horsham?

By card or cash at the machine, through the RingGo app using the car park’s location code, or through MiPermit in the surface car parks. In the barrier car parks you can register for Autopay, which charges your card automatically when you leave.

Is there free parking anywhere in the Horsham district?

Lintot Square in Southwater is free with a two hour maximum, and BT Exchange is free after 5pm on weekdays. Everything else is charged, though the village car parks are much cheaper than the town at around 90p an hour.

Sources

Tariffs are those published by Horsham District Council and were checked against each car park’s own page on 4 August 2026. Charges are reviewed periodically, so glance at the sign before you pay. Our guides to council tax bands and bin collection days cover the other services the same council runs.

Image: the Hop Oast park and ride car park on the edge of Horsham. Hop Oast is the park and ride site rather than one of the town centre car parks priced above.