Visitors to a Bristol shopping centre can now park for free for up to four hours following a campaign by a local MP. Parking charges have been scrapped at Kings Chase Shopping Centre in Kingswood as part of the council's regeneration plans for the town.
Free parking at Kings Chase was announced in March following a review of the charges by the council, after a campaign led by Kingswood MP Chris Skidmore gained support from residents and businesses. An hour's parking at the centre had cost around 80p.
The move is part of a masterplan for Kingswood high street which will see a leisure centre and cinema built, and also the pedestrianisation of part of Regent Street. South Gloucestershire Council says four-hour free parking will benefit shoppers and provide a boost for the town centre.
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South Gloucestershire Council Leader Toby Savage said: “We have exciting and ambitious plans for the future of Kingswood and are investing £25 million into the area to improve the town centre and surrounding areas.
“Providing four hours free parking at Kings Chase Shopping Centre means that people can come to shop and stay a little longer to explore all that Kingswood has on offer such as the wonderful parks and open spaces. This is just one element of our work supporting Kingswood’s success as a vibrant and sustainable community, where people want to live and young families to put down roots.
“Other work includes the partial pedestrianisation of Regent Street, which will enhance the shopping experience and improve air quality, the complete renovation of the Whitfield Tabernacle to supplement the arts and cultural heart of Kingswood, and supporting the relocation of the Kingswood Leisure Centre to the town centre.”
Kings Chase Shopping Centre Manager, Kadir Mustafa, added: “We are delighted to launch our new free parking initiative at Kings Chase. With the unprecedented cost of living crisis biting hard we are committed to relieving the pressure on our customers wherever we can. We hope that this removal of parking fees combined with our strong line up of value led retailers will make life a little easier for the Kingswood community during these difficult times.”
South Gloucestershire Council approved a masterplan for Kingswood last year, shortly after it announced it had bought the shopping centre for £10million. Plans include the pedestrianisation of part of Regent Street and the restoration of Park Road’s derelict former church, the Grade-I listed Whitfield Tabernacle.
A new public park will be created from the cemetery of the Grade-II listed Masters Church, which sits beside the tabernacle and is being privately developed by Crossman Homes as 19 apartments. The regeneration will also see an office/hot-desk hub built.
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