PARKING problems in Woodbridge town centre in the busy run-up to Christmas have today been solved - with an extra 200 free spaces provided for shoppers.
PARKING problems in Woodbridge town centre in the busy run-up to Christmas have today been solved - with an extra 200 free spaces provided for shoppers.
Suffolk Coastal council is to allow the car park at its Melton Hill offices to be open from 7.30am to 6.30pm on Saturdays until the New Year, and also on Sunday December 7 for the annual Christmas street fair.
The deal was struck with Woodbridge Town Centre Management Ltd, and will also see the car park open on some peak Saturdays during 2009.
“Thanks to the efforts of WTCM Ltd, it will be free to park at the Melton Hill car park, and we hope it will attract many of the staff working at the shops on Saturdays, so that more spaces will be available to shoppers at the town's more central car parks,” said Woodbridge town centre co-ordinator Marion Wells.
“I would like to thank Suffolk Coastal for agreeing to this arrangement and to Browsers Bookshop for arranging for the car park to be opened and closed each day, as well as for putting up signs to direct people towards this special additional car parking in the busy run-up to Christmas.”
Council cabinet member Andy Smith said the car park would be free for motorists on Saturdays in the run up to Christmas, and also over the Easter and summer holiday period.
“I hope it will be a well-used facility and help attract even more shoppers to Woodbridge,” he said.
“Like the other market towns in Suffolk Coastal, Woodbridge is a great shopping attraction, and good use is being made of the funding this council gained from a planning agreement with a major superstore.
“I would urge more people to look out for their own local shops and specialist stores that are offering quality products without the frustrations that a visit to a big town or city, or even online, can generate.”
Should the council provide the parking at its offices for free - or should motorists pay? Write to Your Letters, Evening Star, 30 Lower Brook Street, Ipswich, IP4 1AN, or e-mail EveningStarLetters@eveningstar.co.uk
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