Feedback on free Ayr Town Centre car parking sessions

South Ayrshire Council and Ayrshire Roads Alliance have launched a survey to gain feedback into the delivery of free two-hour town centre car parking sessions.

The initiative was introduced in January 2024 to encourage more people to visit the town centre and stimulate economic benefits. Both organisations are now keen to gather public and local business views to understand and assess the impact and benefits it has had and help to plan the way forward.

Currently motorists benefit from one free parking session per day, up to two hours, on any street within a designated town centre area that has a street parking ticket machine.  Extended stays of more than the two hours or subsequent visits are chargeable, and the free session does not apply to car parks.

The survey can be accessed from https://engagementea.east-ayrshire.gov.uk/ayr-parking-strategy and businesses will also be contacted over the coming weeks.  The survey will be open for comments until Friday 6 December and the results are expected to be published in Spring 2025.

Councillor Martin Dowey, Leader of South Ayrshire Council said: "We would like to establish if this initiative has encouraged people to visit the town centre and if businesses have experienced any benefits.

"We are also keen to establish if there have been any traffic impacts such as road congestion or problems in locating available parking bays. The more information we receive, the better informed we can be for future planning, so I would really encourage people to take the time to complete the survey."

Anyone with issues accessing the website can also contact streets-uk on 0800 987 5990.