Free weekend parking confirmed

COUNCILLORS last night voted in favour of a new 12-month free parking scheme in the town centre to help boost shop sales.

Following the successful trial of pilot schemes in the past three months, the new proposals will mean that people will be able to park for free in any council-owned car park for three hours on Saturdays and Sundays.

Drivers will also have the option of parking for 30 minutes free of charge in street pay-and-display bays, seven days a week, from April 6. An extension to the current scheme, which would have ended on March 31, will also increase the maximum stay period at Tommyfield Market and Clegg Street car parks from two to three hours.

Councillor Shoab Akhtar, cabinet member responsible for the town centre, said: “This shows that as a council we value our town centre and it is hoped this will help businesses to become more viable and sustainable.”

He added that the scheme had been extremely popular with residents, leading to a 31 per cent increase in the number of people using the car parks.
for the full version of this story buy the Chronicle or register to read the digital editions