Free parking in Ayr town centre to remain until after Christmas

No changes will be made to parking in Ayr town centre over the festive period.

Motorists will still be able to take advantage of the two-hour free parking as South Ayrshire Council looks to help shoppers and businesses over Christmas.

A consultation into the future of parking in Ayr town centre is ongoing until Friday, December 6 to gauge opinions from drivers, businesses and other town centre users.

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South Ayrshire Council and Ayrshire Roads Alliance confirmed existing arrangements wouldn’t change until after the survey had closed and the results could be analysed.

After the current parking regime was introduced in January, drivers in the town centre have been entitled to one free parking session per day of up to two hours.

Parking for more than two hours and return visits are chargeable while the free session does not apply to council-owned car parks.

It was hoped that the change to town centre parking would encourage more people to visit the town centre and stimulate economic benefits.

Councillor Bob Pollock, depute leader of South Ayrshire Council, said: “We’re keen to encourage local trade wherever possible and these sessions add a helping hand.

“We’ve had a really good response to our survey, and we are very grateful to everyone who takes the time to complete the survey. It helps us enormously to future plan.”

Both South Ayrshire Council and Ayrshire Roads Alliance are encouraging the public and businesses to complete the survey which can be accessed at https://www.south-ayrshire.gov.uk/consultations.

Anyone with issues accessing the website can also contact streets-uk on 0800 987 5990.

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