Free parking for Shrewsbury shoppers

Shrewsbury BID (Business Improvement District) and Shropshire Council announced today (THURS) that parking will be free in Frankwell and Abbey Foregate car parks on Tuesdays and Wednesdays during August.

This is in addition to free car parking in two car parks on Sundays.

Seb Slater, executive director of Shrewsbury BID, said that the joint initiative was part of an ongoing campaign to encourage more people into the town.

“Over the past few weeks we have been in discussion with Shropshire Council about the impact on businesses of the gas works and Pride Hill improvements, and are delighted to be able to jointly announce some good news,” he said.

“The BID is backing this free parking offer with a major local and regional promotional campaign during August, because we are proud of our town centre and want more people to use and discover it.

“We have already launched the #ShopShrewsbury campaign which is attracting a lot of interest on social media, and we want to encourage local people, but also those from further afield, to come to Shrewsbury for a day out during the summer holidays.

“Shrewsbury really is a wonderful place to spend time as a family, with an array of independent shops and cafes, the award-winning market hall, Shrewsbury Museum, and, of course, The Quarry with its splash park and state-of-the-art play area.”

Car parking will be free in Frankwell and Abbey Foregate car parks on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, and is already free in these car parks on Sundays, meaning that there will be free parking available for nearly half of the whole month of August.

To be eligible for free parking, people need to use the MiPermit app or text service.

Seb added: “We do want to encourage more people to use the MiPermit parking app, so we are hoping this offer will help with that.

“It really is very straightforward to use, and once you have it on your phone you can top up your parking while you are in town, meaning there’s no need to rush back to your car because you’ve only got five minutes left on your ticket.

“We would encourage people to download the MiPermit app to their phones, enjoy the free parking days during August and use it in the future for easy parking payments.”

Steve Davenport, Shropshire Council’s Cabinet member for highways and transport, said: “Shrewsbury is benefitting from major investment as part of the Shrewsbury Integrated Transport Package (SITP), which aims to improve key junctions and enhance the town centre.

“We’re excited to say that our work to improve the look of the High Street and the bottom of Pride Hill is now close to completion, following essential work to replace the gas main at Mardol Head.

“Although people will see a significant and notable improvement, we know that major projects of this kind cannot be completed without causing some short-term disruption.

“This offer of free parking throughout August is a way of saying ‘thank you’ to businesses and residents for bearing with us while the work is completed, while also promoting our fantastic town centre, by encouraging more people to come into the town and experience all it has to offer.”

For more information about the free parking offer, go to originalshrewsbury.co.uk/free-parking