New car parking measures in Bingham install hope in Newark residents of free car parking

Following the announcement of new car parking measures in a nearby town, we found out people’s thoughts on introducing free car parking in Newark.

It was announced that from October, Rushcliffe Borough Council will introduce free parking for 30 minutes in the bays around the Bingham Market Place to encourage short stays.

This comes with two hours of free parking retained at other central car parks.

Nottinghamshire County Council are also progressing their own consultation process for similar changes to the on-street bays around the Market Place.

We went around Newark town centre to understand how people felt about this, and what they think to be the benefits of introducing similar car parking measures in Newark.

“I think this will attract more people because they don’t have to worry about where to park the car,” said Adam Zommers.

He added: “If they did this in Newark it would be good because parking is a nightmare in Newark.”

Michael Fletcher said: “Ask yourself, if one council can do it, why is it that two councils can’t do it?

“They seem to want to grab everything, why did it cost the Newark council tax payer £500,000 on London road car park and they didn’t get to extend the car park?

“If Bingham council can do it, Newark town council or the district council can do it too.”

Mandy Woolnogh said: “It would definitely benefit Newark having free car parking.

“I do come into the town quite often and just even having a little bit of change just to nip into town sometimes can be a bit of a pain.”

Adrian Hall said: “I’m sure businesses would be happy if this happened in Newark because people would actually come into town and shop here.

“Newark is a ghost town and the council needs to do something about it.”

Rose Harrington said: “There have been many times where I didn’t come into the town centre because of the parking situation, so yes, I think free car parking would be very beneficial.”

Karen Walker said: “Thankfully Newark car parking isn’t one of the most expensive ones around here but if it was free it would be better and more people would come to the town centre more often.”

An article published by the Newark Advertiser this week, revealed that Newark and Sherwood District Council generated £651,746.55 from its eight car parks in Newark between April 1, 2023 and March 15, 2024.

The figures released that the London Road car park in Newark had generated £276,385.54 in the last financial year.

The deputy leader of Newark and Sherwood District Council, Rowan Cozens said: “We are sometimes asked why we don’t offer free parking. At certain times of the year we do offer free parking, for example during the lead up to Christmas. However, there are several reasons why we cannot offer this all the time in Newark.

“We have to work alongside commercial partners who also offer car parking facilities, such as the NCPs at the Northgate station and St Mark’s Place. If we made our car parks free all the time, these facilities would become unsustainable reducing the level of choice for residents.

“There is also a fine balance to be struck between encouraging alternative forms of transport to get into town, from an environmental perspective, and meeting the needs of those residents who still rely on their cars.”