News: Free parking continues in Rotherham town centre
Parking initiatives in Rotherham town centre are set to continue after Rotherham Councillors heard that both initiatives launched last year have been well received by local businesses.
Launched in May, the 'Free After 3' scheme recognised how important the cost of parking is to shoppers and aims to provide a welcome boost for both town centre retailers and shoppers alike.
The main purpose of the experiment was to encourage more shoppers into Rotherham at a time when the town is traditionally not as busy. Free parking on Saturday was also trialled last November to boost sales leading up to Christmas.
Councillors heard that 74 per cent of those traders consulted by the Rotherham Town Centre Management Team felt the "Free After 3" initiative had the potential to improve trade and footfall and just under half of those indicated that trade had already improved as a result.
Sixty four per cent of those traders surveyed also suggested trade and footfall had also increased with the free Saturday parking scheme.
The initiatives are set to continue for a further year and he funding for the scheme will hopefully be met from the Local Area Agreement.
Cllr Gerald Smith, Cabinet Member for Regeneration and Development Services, said: "We are strongly recommending the continuation of our free parking initiatives as part of our contribution to supporting town-centre businesses."
Brian Chapple, Chair of the Rotherham Partnership, said extending the scheme would help the people of Rotherham to access the Town Centre. He added: "The Partnership supports it, because alongside all the new developments and the new train station, it is part of an over-arching plan to make the town centre much more attractive to the public."
Rotherham town centre website
Rotherham
Launched in May, the 'Free After 3' scheme recognised how important the cost of parking is to shoppers and aims to provide a welcome boost for both town centre retailers and shoppers alike.
The main purpose of the experiment was to encourage more shoppers into Rotherham at a time when the town is traditionally not as busy. Free parking on Saturday was also trialled last November to boost sales leading up to Christmas.
Councillors heard that 74 per cent of those traders consulted by the Rotherham Town Centre Management Team felt the "Free After 3" initiative had the potential to improve trade and footfall and just under half of those indicated that trade had already improved as a result.
Sixty four per cent of those traders surveyed also suggested trade and footfall had also increased with the free Saturday parking scheme.
The initiatives are set to continue for a further year and he funding for the scheme will hopefully be met from the Local Area Agreement.
Cllr Gerald Smith, Cabinet Member for Regeneration and Development Services, said: "We are strongly recommending the continuation of our free parking initiatives as part of our contribution to supporting town-centre businesses."
Brian Chapple, Chair of the Rotherham Partnership, said extending the scheme would help the people of Rotherham to access the Town Centre. He added: "The Partnership supports it, because alongside all the new developments and the new train station, it is part of an over-arching plan to make the town centre much more attractive to the public."
Rotherham town centre website
Rotherham
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