Aims to help smaller shopping areas
Hounslow Council has introduced a ‘stop and shop’ scheme to the borough, enabling free parking for up to half an hour on many streets by shopping areas.
Free parking places will be available for 30 minutes on London Road, South Street, Thornbury Road, Twickenham Road and Vicarage Farm Road, where a free ticket must still be displayed from the pay and display machine.
It is hoped that the move will facilitate more investment to Hounslow and Isleworth town centres, as well as the shopping areas around Osterley. Hounslow Council has recently employed a town centre manager to improve inward investment into town centre areas.
Full tariffs will apply for parking over half hour at all of the sites. Vehicles are not permitted to return within two hours if they have already used the free half hour facility to ensure a sufficient turnover of spaces.
Cllr Ed Mayne, Hounslow Council’s cabinet member for crime and community safety said:
“We always try to strike a balance between good parking facilities to help economic wellbeing for businesses and improving pedestrian access to shopping areas. I believe that ‘stop and shop’ strikes this balance and gives the fairest deal for residents who want to take their cars into areas in the borough.
“We have employed short stay discounts before and they’ve worked, like in many surrounding boroughs. To have this free facility on a number of our pay and display roads is quite unique, and I hope this will make residents’ lives easier and their shopping experience more worthwhile. If this initiative works well, it could be rolled out in other shopping parades across the borough too.”
This comes after huge raises in parking charges across the borough as from July.
August 26, 2011