Changes to on-street parking charging confirmed
Changes to the way on-street parking is charged and regulated will come into effect in Nottingham City Centre from 14 November.
On-street car parking charges will be introduced on Sundays and extended to 8pm in the evenings during the week. This will help tackle the problems caused by people parking for long periods of time in parking bays designed for short-term, high turnover parking for shoppers and visitors.
Since September, the council has consulted with 20,000 residents and stakeholders including the emergency services, retailers and faith groups.
Cllr Jane Urquhart says: "The comments and objections that we received have been very valuable and have helped shape the outcome. I have personally met with the city centre church group and we have had a productive on-going dialogue. A number of measures have been agreed to help alleviate their concerns and we have come up with helpful solutions for each church. This is consistent with parking offers already offered to other faith groups who worship throughout the week."
Measures introduced to support churches and faith groups include discounted parking in multi-story car parks and reduced price parking tickets for on-street parking for congregations of churches which are not located near car parks.
Furthermore, in response to the criticism of the Sunday charging times not coinciding with shop opening hours, the council has introduced a cheaper 50p tariff between 8am and 10am and similarly between 6pm and 8pm on Sundays.
With Sundays now being a busy shopping day, the introduction of Sunday on-street parking charges will help address the issue of short-stay visitors being put off from visiting the city centre by people parking for much longer periods - sometimes all day. It will help stimulate growth for local businesses and bring Nottingham in line with other major and neighbouring cities.
Cllr Jane Urquhart continues: "Nottingham is a key retail and visitor destination and our parking needs to be flexible to meet the needs of those who drive into the city. The new charges will help us better manage our on and off-street parking provision making it easier for short-stay visitors to pop in and out of the city centre."
