Free weekend and bank holiday parking has been revealed for Carlisle to encourage more people to visit the city.
Nine Carlisle City Council city centre car parks will offer the free parking from April 1.
The council will also introduce a reduced rate parking charge of £1 for the first hour of parking across Carlisle-owned city centre pay and display car parks.
This is a saving of almost 25 per cent on the current typical one-hour charge of £1.30, saving customers 30p for shorter trips to the city centre.
The new incentives will support the local economy and encourage more people to visit Carlisle. They will further support the retail and leisure sector and are designed to increase footfall and dwell-time in the city centre, the authority said.
The moves have been agreed by the council’s executive.
Councillor Nigel Christian, portfolio holder for environment and transport, said: “We want to do all we can to support the local economy and stimulate the high street. Free parking is a major incentive to make a visit to the city centre. We urge visitors and local residents to take up the offer and shop local.”
The nine participating car parks are:
- Caldew Riverside
- Castle
- Viaduct
- Sands
- Swifts
- West Walls
- Bitts Park
- Lowther Street
- Civic Centre
The offer is aimed at supporting recovery on the high street and does not apply to parking at Paddy’s Market and Talkin Tarn car park.
Overnight barrier closures in Castle, Caldew Riverside and West Walls car parks will remain in place.
Overnight closure times may be reviewed/extended at weekends and bank holidays to reflect any changing demands but will be kept under review, the council said, should this lead to any increase in anti-social behaviour.
