Free Banbury town centre parking enters its final days

In a bid to boost independent traders, Cherwell District Council is offering free parking after 3pm in its car parks. The promotion runs until the end of January only..

Cllr George Reynolds, Cherwell’s deputy leader, said: “Town centre traders bring character and originality to both Bicester and Banbury, offering a friendly shopping experience with great customer service.

“We recognise the comments of people who call for free parking all year round; however, at a time when we have to carefully balance the books to protect services, we are afraid this simply isn’t possible.

“Nevertheless, we are pleased to be making this gesture of support. After the flurry of activity in the run-up to Christmas, January can be quiet for some of our town traders, so instead of doing all of their shopping at the out-of-town retailers, we would urge as many people as possible to take advantage of our ‘free after three’ promotion, and discover everything that the town centres have to offer.”

Signs will be on display at all participating car parks until the offer expires on Tuesday. Stay limits will still apply after 3pm as will all other regulations.