Councillors praise £1-per-hour trial in Worthing car parks

COUNCILLORS were unanimous in their praise of the £1-per-hour parking trial in the town’s multi-storey car parks, at the latest joint strategic committee meeting on Tuesday night.

By Dan Cain

Published 24th Jul 2014, 16:00 BST

The council recently extended the trial for a further three-months following a positive performance report, which showed the average weekly usage, between April and June this year, had increased by 21 per cent at the High Street car park, nine per cent at Grafton and 14 per cent at Buckingham Road, compared with the same period last year.

Paul Yallop, leader of Worthing Borough Council, said: “It’s all about driving volume forward. I’m very encouraged by this and I’m hopeful we will be able to continue with these tariffs. There are more cars coming in, and when they come in they are staying longer. People aren’t looking at their watch thinking they haven’t got time to get to the next shop. Things are looking very positive.”

Bryan Turner, Worthing Borough Council cabinet member for regeneration, said he was ‘particularly pleased’ with how the car parks had been marketed since the council took them back from NCP.