BASINGSTOKE and Deane Borough Council is set to introduce a free pay-and-display ticket to ensure that free parking is being used fairly across the town centre.

Free 30 minute parking was introduced by the borough council in all council-owned short stay car parks in April 2014 in a bid to try and help high street shops and traders by attracting more people into the town centre.

The initiative currently allows people to park free for 30 minutes between 8am and 6pm, Monday to Saturday, in Albert Yard, Castons Yard, Feathers Yard, Jacobs Yard, Joices Yard and Central car parks.

A £1 charge applies in the evenings and on Sundays.

But, following feedback from people taking advantage of the scheme, the borough council is set to introduce a free pay-and-display style ticket and parking attendants will be monitoring vehicles to check the tickets are being displayed, and will issue fines to any vehicles not displaying a ticket from August 1.

Cabinet member for communities, service delivery and improvement, Councillor Robert Tate, said: “Free car parking has helped to encourage people, who may have been put off by the cost of short term parking in the past, to support their local shops and businesses by making it even easier to nip into the Top of The Town for a quick shopping trip.

“By now introducing a ticket for this we can make sure that this incentive is being used fairly by all.”

Although free parking is not available in any of the long stay car parks in the town, the charge for up to 30 minutes parking remains unchanged at 50p.

The charge for one hour parking in council-owned Basingstoke town centre car parks has also been frozen at £1.

For more information on free short stay car parking in the town centre, visit www.basingstoke.gov.uk/go/parkfree.