South Ayrshire Council and Ayrshire Roads Alliance have launched a survey to gain feedback
into the delivery of free two-hour town centre car parking sessions.
The initiative was introduced in January 2024 to encourage more people to visit the town
centre and stimulate economic benefits. Both organisations are now keen to gather public
and local business views to understand and assess the impact and benefits it has had and
help to plan the way forward.
Currently, motorists benefit from one free parking session per day, up to two hours, on any
street within a designated town centre area that has a street parking ticket machine.
Extended stays of more than two hours or subsequent visits are chargeable, and the
Free sessions do not apply to car parks.
The survey can be accessed at https://engagementea.east-ayrshire.gov.uk/ayr-parking-strategy strategy and businesses will also be contacted over the coming weeks. The survey will be open for comments until Friday 6 December and the results are expected to be published in
Spring 2025.
Councillor Martin Dowey, Leader of South Ayrshire Council said:
We would like to establish if this initiative has encouraged people to visit the town centre and if businesses have experienced any benefits.
“We are also keen to establish if there have been any traffic impacts such as road
congestion or problems in locating available parking bays. The more information we receive,
the better informed we can be for future planning, so I would really encourage people to
take the time to complete the survey.”
Anyone with issues accessing the website can also contact streets-uk on 0800 987 5990.