Free town centre parking for Christmas shoppers

Christmas shopping in East Ayrshire has just got better as East Ayrshire Council has suspended all parking charges in local town centres from Saturday 5 December 2020 until the end of the month.

This means anyone visiting Kilmarnock, Cumnock, Stewarton, Galston or Mauchline to do Christmas shopping will not need to pay to park in any Council car park or within any on street parking bay.

Shoppers should note, however, that any limited waiting restrictions shall still apply and parking attendants will be out patrolling the streets to ensure the continued safe flow of traffic around the town centres. They will concentrate their efforts around schools and other priority areas and they will continue to ensure disabled bays and other bays designated for a specific purpose are used appropriately. 

Leader of East Ayrshire Council, Councillor Douglas Reid welcomed this initiative. He said:

“This has been a tough year for retailers and shoppers alike, with town centre footfall severely affected by the COVID-19 restrictions and we want to do everything we can to boost business across our town centres.

“Hopefully the restrictions will ease to allow local retailers to re-open in time for Christmas -  I would to encourage everyone to support our local businesses and to shop local.”

Shoppers are reminded that the COVID-19 restrictions will still be in place and they should observe these while shopping, by wearing a mask inside premises and keeping a safe 2 metre distance from other shoppers.