Mayor Dave Hodgson’s Cabinet has resolved that all car park charges will be frozen for 2019. They will also maintain – and in some cases extend – the free parking options for Bedford Town Centre.
The freeze cuts the real cost of parking for a second successive year, delivering a pre-Christmas boost for local traders and shoppers. The freeze applies to all charges, covering both on street parking and Council car parks.
The move maintains the Mayor’s Free Parking Deal and the wide range of free parking options it offers at Council Car Parks in Bedford Town Centre.
The introduction of two hours’ free parking on Saturdays in town centre car parks has coincided with four successive years of footfall growth for Bedford, in sharp contrast to national trends and the crisis faced by UK high streets.
Mayor Dave Hodgson said: “Every day the national news features stories illustrating the crisis facing UK high streets, so we’re working to help Bedford keep bucking that trend. We are supporting local traders including our fantastic independents, who have helped us fight back against wider trends with four straight years of footfall growth since we introduced the Free Parking Deal.’
“There are free parking options available every day in Bedford town centre. With these free parking offers and another freeze we want to give people every reason to visit and enjoy Bedford town centre and its excellent shops and services.”
In addition to freezing all parking charges and maintaining existing free parking deals, from January 2019 a new free parking option will be introduced, with free parking after 6pm in the St Mary’s Gardens Car Park in Bedford.
