Harrogate BID says parking charges return is sign things are starting to return to some normality

Both Harrogate Borough Council and North Yorkshire Borough Council have confirmed this week that charges at the district's 28 car parks and all on-street parking will be brought back when shops reopen next Monday, June 15.

But Harrogate Business Improvement District added that the reintroduction of parking fees to Harrogate town centre needed to be 'sign posted' clearly for drivers.

Harrogate BID acting chair Sara Ferguson said: “The resumption of parking charges is an indication that things are slowly starting to return to some form of normality.

“Whilst it won’t be universally welcomed, we understand why the County Council is doing this. It will guarantee there is turnover in parking spaces when shops reopen. It also needs to be communicated loud and clear, so no one is caught unaware.

“We need to ensure that at the same time traffic wardens are back patrolling the streets, the town’s car parks are re-opened and properly signposted.

"Better signage for the car parks is needed too, due to the loss of on street spaces for the widened pavements due to social distancing.”

There have been no charges for parking in Harrogate since March to support key workers travelling to work during the pandemic.

NHS staff, health or social care workers and NHS volunteer responders will still be able to park for free, as long as they display their NHS permit or another valid form of evidence.

In terms of responsibility and revenue, on-street parking in Harrogate comes under the jurisdiction of North Yorkshire County Council while organised car parks and multi-storeys belong to Harrogate Borough Council.

What happens next for Harrogate's Stray FM - the story explained

A message from the Editor

Thank you for reading this story on our website. While I have your attention, I also have an important request to make of you.

In order for us to continue to provide high quality and trusted local news on this free-to-read site, I am asking you to also please purchase a copy of our newspaper.

Our journalists are highly trained and our content is independently regulated by IPSO to some of the most rigorous standards in the world. But being your eyes and ears comes at a price. So we need your support more than ever to buy our newspapers during this crisis.

With the coronavirus lockdown having a major impact on many of our local valued advertisers - and consequently the advertising that we receive - we are more reliant than ever on you helping us to provide you with news and information by buying a copy of our newspaper