The changes Salisbury's five park & ride sites remain free and BID are encouraging workers to take advantage of this.
Clear signage will be displayed in all the council run car parks stating the changes to charges.
The background Free parking was implemented by Wiltshire Council to encourage shoppers and visitors into Salisbury following the incidents this year.
The council has contributed £1.5m towards the cost of providing free parking since March. Some of this cost is being met by central government in support of the recovery of both Salisbury and Amesbury.
BID's involvement
On behalf of businesses, BID have been working behind the scenes to ensure that free car parking is still available until Christmas, along with free park and ride.
Wiltshire Council have been working with the BID and other business partners to ensure there is certainty on parking arrangements up until Christmas. By offering free parking after 3pm this will allow us to promote the city and encourage visitors to come for the day and stay longer in the evening.
It was also felt that it was important that workers of the city were able to continue to use the park and ride services free of charge all day until Christmas.
We are also working closely with Wiltshire Council to bring forward car parking technology improvements to the city.
Wiltshire Council say... Pauline Church, cabinet member for Salisbury recovery, said: “This year’s festive shopping period is even more important for our traders and businesses given the challenges they have faced in the past few months. We need to do all we can to continue to encourage people to come to Salisbury and enjoy the array of shops, restaurants and attractions on offer.
“I’m delighted that the council has also agreed that the five park and ride services that serve Salisbury will be free Monday to Saturday, and I would urge people to use them and help to reduce congestion and improve air quality in the city.”
Alistair Cunningham, chair of the South Wiltshire Recovery Coordinating Group, said: “Free parking has had a positive effect on footfall. It’s important that we continue to support the local economy in Salisbury and Amesbury; particularly in the lead up to the Christmas trading period.
“The good news is that both Salisbury and Amesbury are getting back to normal. We are working with the owners of all the affected sites in both the Salisbury and Amesbury town centres, aiming for them to be open in time for Christmas.”
In partnership with VisitWiltshire, Salisbury BID co-fund the Visit Salisbury website to promote the city to visitors. The Visit Salisbury website has a full events calendar for Salisbury.
