Parking u-turn welcomed by campaigners

The council's Cabinet voted unanimously on Wednesday to retain the current charging period up until 6pm after caving to public pressure.

A number of protests and demonstrations were staged in Shrewsbury and Ludlow over the summer and hundreds of people took to the streets to demonstrate their opposition to Shropshire Council' proposals to revamp the county's parking strategy.

Campaigners said that the extension of charges from 6pm to 8pm would have had a detrimental effect on the county's night-time economy.

In the light of representations made by a number of groups, Shropshire Council took the decision to continue with the current charging structure.

Seb Slater, executive director of Shrewsbury BID said: “This is a major win for Shrewsbury businesses. We are delighted that the council has listened to our members and the wider public about the vital importance of free car parking for the success of the night time economy. Removal of these charges along with the other amendments we have already negotiated for the daytime economy will be welcome news for all businesses.

“Throughout this process, we have lobbied the council on this strategy to ensure the voice of the business is heard and that it reflects their views on this crucial aspect which affects trading within the town. This proves the council are willing to listen and we have agreed to work with them on the promotion and development of the car parking strategy moving forward.”

Steve Davenport, Cabinet member for highways and transport, said: “One of the key aims of the new parking strategy is to encourage people to visit Shrewsbury and all our market towns by making parking and parking charges simpler, clearer and fairer, and to help local business as a result.

"We’ve listened carefully to the BID throughout the two rounds of consultation into the strategy, and had already made a number of changes to the strategy as a result. I’m pleased that we’ve now come to an agreement about evening charges too, which we hope will benefit Shrewsbury’s town centre businesses and help to boost the town’s night-time economy.”

Peter Nutting, leader of Shropshire Council, said: “We’ve listened to the concerns of the BID and to local businesses regarding evening parking charges, and I’m pleased that we’ve now come to an agreement with which everyone is happy."

Shropshire Council has said the situation will be reviewed in 12 months time.