Posted on 8th Sep
Newark and Sherwood District Council has extended its two hours free parking across all its pay and display car parks until midnight on Sunday, 20th September.
The free parking was introduced at the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic and was originally set to finish at the end of August.
It has now been extended to take into account that the district is recovering from a local outbreak, combined with the end of the ‘Eat Out to Help Out’ Government initiative.
However, the council said its funding is reliant on income it receives from its car parks and, along with many of the Government support schemes, the free parking arrangements cannot be carried on indefinitely.
Leader of the council, Coun David Lloyd, said: “We have been keen to do everything we can to support local businesses, in addition to us paying out more than £27 million in financial support and still counting.
“Unlike the vast majority of other councils, we chose not to reintroduce car park charges from the first day lockdown was lifted. Instead we put in place a temporary measure to provide two hours free parking – not just to support the local economy but also our key workers and people accessing essential provisions. This could only ever be temporary. In the same way as other businesses now need to work on getting their income levels back on track, so do we.
“We are launching a ‘we are open’ campaign across the district, which encourages everyone to shop local. In a month’s time we will have the outcome of our exciting and ambitious Towns Fund bid for up to £25 million, which would enable a re-imagining of Newark’s economy and landscape.”
To take advantage of the free two hours parking, residents and visitors should press the parking machine ticket button and display the ticket in their vehicle.
For more information on all Newark and Sherwood District Council car parks, visit: https://www.newark-sherwooddc.gov.uk/carparks/carparklocations/.
