Across the nation, cities and towns are gearing up to take part in Small Business Saturday.
Aimed at encouraging residents to shop local, councils around the country are offering free parking in their car parks.
Long stay car parks from midday
The Isle of Wight Council is supporting the scheme and will not charge you to park in any of its long stay car parks between 12pm and 6pm.
The Executive member for economy, Cllr Shirley Smart, explains the reason for the shorter period this year,
“We supported Small Business Saturday last year and are keen to do so again by providing free car parking for a long period on 6 December.
“We have changed the period of free parking this year to between 12pm and 6pm. This is based on feedback received last time which suggested that many people took advantage of the parking in the morning and left their vehicles parked all day. This in turn meant many car parks were full which prevented shoppers from finding spaces.
“By providing free parking from midday should mean more spaces are available for shoppers to visit towns across the Island including those where they might not usually shop.”
“A boon for Island shoppers”
Normal Arnold from the Federation of Small Businesses said the event is great for shops ahead of Christmas, saying:
“This scheme is being thoroughly embraced by our members and will be a boon for Island shoppers.
“Across the Island we have some of the most innovative and interesting retailers you will find anywhere and I would encourage everybody to explore all we have to offer on 6 December. Doing this also supports local traders and helps boost the local economy. You may just find the inspiration to make this a very special Christmas for loved ones.”
Map of IW long and short stay car parks
It’s important to remember that it’s only the Long Stay car parks (marked in blue on the map below) that have the ‘Free-after midday’ offer.
Image: adspackman under CC BY 2.0
