Council set to slash Crown car park charges

Crown surface car park, between Tower Ramparts Shopping Centre, Crown Pools and Ipswich Museum is a short-stay car park ideal for the town centre. The Council's Executive will next week vote on proposals to cut charges in the new year for a six-month trial to boost town centre shops and leisure facilities.

Councillor Phil Smart is the Borough Council's Transport portfolio-holder. He said: "We know that retailers can do with all the help we can give them and we also want shoppers' money to go that little bit further.

"Crown car park has 230 spaces and is right next to all the major stores, the Museum and Ipswich Art School Gallery and Crown Pools. We plan to cut charges from January from £1.70 to £1.40 per hour. With 50p off two-hour parking (just £2.50) and four hours for just a fiver this makes Crown much cheaper than neighbouring car parks."

A nearby car park is charging £18 for four hours - nearly four times the proposed Crown rate. Ipswich can also offer cheaper parking than similar car parks in regional rivals Colchester and Cambridge.  "It pays to shop around for cheaper parking and it is a myth that Ipswich is expensive to park in - certainly not at Crown and at Council long-stay car parks," added Councillor Smart.

The Executive report is also recommending that charges at the Council's Waterfront car parks are pegged and that all-day parking in Portman Road and Ipswich Village rise by just 10p a day.