Market Drayton set for parking fees shake-up
A new parking charge system is set to come into force in Market Drayton next week.
Three of the town's car parks will operate an hourly rate from next Monday, as part of a new Shropshire Council initiative.
It will see the sites at Frogmore Road and Queen Street take on a 50p hourly rate between 8am and 6pm, and the two Towers Lawn car parks charge 30p an hour in the same hours.
The charges will cap after eight hours, meaning parking all day at Frogmore Road and Queen Street will cost £4, and at Towers Lawn it will cost £2.40.
All three of the sites will have free parking on Sundays and bank holidays, and Newport Road will remain free all year round.
The changes were previously introduced in towns including Oswestry, where residents said they feared the changes would deter people from visiting the town centre.
The new rates will include a 15-minute 'pop and shop' system and will be delivered on new pay and display machines.
Steve Davenport, Shropshire Council’s cabinet member for highways and transport, said: “Our new parking strategy is designed to make parking charges clearer and simpler, and to deliver a wide range of other improvements and benefits to people using our car parks.
“The new parking charges and arrangements agreed last autumn have already been successfully introduced in Shrewsbury and Ludlow, Bridgnorth, Much Wenlock and Church Stretton.
"The new arrangements offer a wide range of benefits to users of our car parks, and a number of improvements on the current arrangements, including a variety of free and cheap parking, and parking charges that are easier to understand – together with a wider range of payment methods.”
