Free car parking for Christmas set to cost Lisburn council £12.5K in a bid to help boost local economy

Shoppers in Lisburn look set for decreased free festive car parking in the run up to Christmas. The retail initiative for the city centre will also include Royal Hillsborough at an estimated cost of £12,500 in loss of revenue for the local authority according to an environmental services report.

The festive time parking will provide incentive to travelling shoppers to boost the local economy with an increased footfall on the high street. The council’s environmental health committee will look to sign off proposed dates, which will include every Saturday in December across five weekends. The period of free car parking for the 2022 season is down from previous years of eight weeks which ran into the month of January.

A report from the head of environmental services reads: “The free car parking is promoted as part of the wider city centre Christmas campaign and Light festival promotions and has been positively received previously by both the business community and visitors and a proposal is being presented for this to happen again this year.

“It is recommended that members approve to offer free car parking within the council off street car parks in Lisburn City Centre and Royal Hillsborough on each Saturday in December 2022 and to establish this as an annual concession as part of the council’s support of local business.” The proposal will come before the council committee next week for consideration.