Free parking for Southwick shoppers

Good news for shoppers in Southwick! From this weekend, anyone visiting the town’s precinct on Saturdays will be able to park for free thanks to Adur District Council.

From now until the end of the year, the local authority has agreed to waive the fees in the Southwick Square off-road car park on Saturdays.

This means there will be no charge for those visiting on key shopping days throughout the autumn and the run-up to Christmas.

It comes after listening to traders in the area who said that an increase in car park tariffs approved last year had coincided with a drop in footfall in the area.

Councillor Emma Evans, Adur District Council’s Executive Member for the Environment, said: “As a council we are always looking to listen to and support our local traders, who are the lifeblood of our local economy.

“Southwick Square plays an integral part in the town’s community so I’m delighted that we are able to support traders in this way. I urge shoppers to take advantage of the scheme and visit some of the excellent independent shops that Southwick has to offer, especially with Christmas approaching.”

A new range of tariffs were approved across Adur in October 2016. While other areas have seen an increase in footfall, Southwick has experienced a drop-off.

The free parking scheme has been funded from a one-off pot of Government cash designed to support businesses in retail areas.

It will start this Saturday (September 30) and run until the end of December.

Officials say this will give time to work with traders on developing a longer-term solution.

Nikki Lilley, manager of Peter Marson Opticians and secretary of the Southwick Traders Association, said: "The whole idea is to bring people back to shop in the square rather than those people going to other areas that offer free parking.

"The response we have had from local residents so far has been fantastic - they can't wait to come down here to shop to their hearts content.

"Southwick has a lot of independent traders who all offer a really good personal service, which means once they come a few times they are likely to keep on coming back.

"I want to thank the council who have been very supportive in making this happen."