FREE parking will be introduced in one of Northallerton’s town-centre car parks next month.
Charges to stay one hour in the short-stay section of the Applegarth car park will be dropped from October 1.
Hambleton District Council’s cabinet has agreed to make parking for the first hour free in the 148 short-stay spaces at the front of the facility. The second hour will be 60p.
It follows concerns from traders, local residents and visitors about the cost of parking in the town, following the introduction of charging on High Street this year by North Yorkshire County Council.
Cllr Peter Wilkinson, Hambleton’s deputy leader, said: “We have listened to the motorists and traders who tell us that charges are a deterrent to shoppers.”
The expected cost of the free parking will be £95,000, which will be met by Hambleton’s economic-development fund.
The proposal will undergo a statutory 28-day consultation period before being brought into operation.
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