Council plans to allow drivers to park for longer in town centre

PEOPLE will be able to park for longer in Weston-super-Mare town centre following pressure from local businesses.

Traders in the town centre have long said the current two-hour limit did not provide enough time for visits to restaurants and other services such as hairdressers.

Now the council is proposing to extend it from two to three hours for on-street parking.

The cost of parking for the three hours will be £4.

North Somerset Council executive member for parking Councillor James Tonkin said: “We have listened to feedback from traders and users, particularly of businesses like hairdressers and restaurants, who say the current two-hour limit is too short.

“We are proposing to introduce a new three-hour limit which means customers can stay longer in the town centre, spend more money and support our local businesses as they recover from the coronavirus pandemic.”

A consultation on the changes has begun and will run until January 8.

The authority will also be consulting on introducing an all-day parking charge of £3 at the Walliscote Place car park off Station Road, providing residents and visitors with another parking option in the town centre. The cost of an annual permit, which gives town centre residents exemption from the on-street charges from 8am to 10am and 5pm to 6pm, will be reduced from £31 to £20 to encourage more take-up.

Permits which, in addition to the onstreet exemption, allow use of Locking Road car park at any time will be cut from £130 to £90, and those allowing use of Locking Road, Hampton and Madeira car parks will come down from £260 to £190.

Other changes being introduced by the council include extending the “early bird” ticket offer at Carlton Street car park by another three months with the aim of attracting more use of the car park at times when there is spare capacity.

The offer currently applies to tickets purchased between 6am and 9.30am Monday to Friday from November 1 to March 31.

This will now run from September 1 to April 30 with the price increasing from £2 to £3 a day.

The £1 discount for overnight parking at Carlton Street for customers of the nearby Premier Inn will be removed.

Changes will also be made at the council’s two car parks in Kewstoke at Sand Road (Bus Terminus) and Beach Road.

The 30-minute limit will be removed and the all-day rate will increase from £2 to £2.50.

People can have their say at www.nsomerset.gov.uk/notices .