Support for Ipswich town centre retailers from Ipswich Borough Council is due to be extended with a proposal that Council car park charges are frozen for the next 12 months.
Despite the Council’s revenue from parking falling because of the pandemic, the cost saving measures introduced last year have meant that the Council is able to fund this proposal, helping attract visitors back to the town centre.
If agreed at the Council’s Executive on 15 June, the price of parking at the Council’s long stay car parks will remain at £1 an hour, with parking at short-stay car parks remaining at £1.30 an hour (with a special offer of £1 for the first hour at Crown).
Councillor Martin Cook, Portfolio Holder for Resources at Ipswich Borough Council, says: “2020/21 has been hugely challenging financially and we made some really tough decisions in 2020/21 to ensure that the Council maintained its financial position. Those tough decisions have paid off and – although the financial climate caused by Covid is still challenging – we are now in a position where we confirm that it is our intention to support the town centre economy by freezing our car park prices for the next year.
“This means, as an example of our prices, that the hourly rate in our main short stay car parks will remain at £1.30 an hour (with a special offer of £1 for the first hour at Crown) – this is nearly 20% less than the £1.70 an hour that was being charged a decade ago when we first took control of the Council.”
