New parking charges in Ludlow from today
New parking charges come into effect in Ludlow from today in Shropshire Council’s car parks and on-street parking areas.
The new parking arrangements are being introduced as part of Shropshire Council’s new parking strategy and include:
A set price per hour to park – making charges simpler and 15 minutes’ pop and shop parking – including 10 minutes’ statutory grace period.
Motorists will be able to make payments by contactless, mobile app, text, phone, card and coin at new pay and display machines.
Drivers will be able to park for free after 6pm and on Sundays and bank/public holidays excluding Castle Street. There will be half-price parking on Sundays and Bank/public holidays in Castle Street.
Motorists will also be able to purchase discounted weekly and season tickets (excluding Castle Street).
From today, parking for six hours or less in Smithfield car park will be cheaper than before the changes, and it will be cheaper to park in Galdeford A (Upper) car park for two hours or less. There's also free parking after eight hours in Galdeford A (Upper), Galdeford B (Lower) and Smithfield.
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. After a number of lengthy consultations in which people have told us their thoughts I’m pleased that everything has now been agreed and we can now introduce the new parking charges and arrangements across the county. The introduction in Shrewsbury last week has gone smoothly and I’m hopeful that the same will be the case in Ludlow.
“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.”
People are also being encouraged to use the town’s park and ride service as an alternative to parking in the town centre.
Following their introduction in Shrewsbury and now Ludlow new parking charges will be rolled out to Bridgnorth and Oswestry in January 2019 and other areas, including Market Drayton, Whitchurch, Wem and Much Wenlock during February 2019.
