NHS and care workers will not have to pay to use Chichester’s Northgate car park until April 2021.
The news emerged during a virtual meeting of the district council’s cabinet where a number of incentives were detailed to attract people into the West Sussex city as the lockdown eases.
The initial suggestion was only for NHS workers to be allowed to park free of charge but members agreed with advice from the overview and scrutiny committee that care workers should be included too.
Money from car parks makes up a significant portion of the council’s income and the finances were hit hard when charges were suspended in March.
The incentives will come into play when charging returns on 8 June.
There will be free parking at the Avenue De Chartres car park every Saturday and Sunday for three months, and customers who use the MiPermit app will get one hour of free parking when they pay for two hours – also for three months.
Martyn Bell, cabinet member for growth, regeneration and place, said: “It’s a difficult balance between the urgent need to start generating revenue from our car parks for our vital services and supporting the NHS, supporting our retail and other businesses in the city centre, keeping things in line with our green agenda – and very importantly there is a safety incentive in this as well for people to use MiPermit.”
