Free parking for festive shoppers in Ilfracombe this Christmas!

Christmas has come early for North Devon motorists as the council are offering free parking in some local car parks during the festive period-well it is the season of goodwill after all!

The welcome move will see free afternoon parking at three North Devon Council car parks in Ilfracombe on six separate days. It also means locals can shop to their heart's content in Barnstaple or South Molton too, without worrying about paying for parking or overstaying their allotted time.

Council Leader, Councillor Brian Greenslade, says: "We want to encourage as many people as possible to come into our towns to do their Christmas shopping, to help the local economy. Therefore, we've decided to suspend our car-parking charges for six afternoons in December as a goodwill gesture to residents. We hope this will be good news for shoppers and give a welcome boost to local businesses."

Charges will be suspended from 2pm to 6pm, from Thursday 15 December to Saturday 17 December and again from Thursday 22 December to Saturday 24 December, at the following car parks:

Jubilee Gardens, Ilfracombe

Wilder Road, Ilfracombe

Oxford Grove, IlfracombeBear Street, Barnstaple

Queen Street, Barnstaple

North Walk, Barnstaple

Commercial Road, Barnstaple

Cattle Market, Barnstaple

Tuly Street, Barnstaple

Litchdon Street, Barnstaple

Paiges Lane, Barnstaple

Multi-storey car park (deck 3 only), off Queen Street, Barnstaple

Central car park, South Molton

The move has been welcomed by local businesses in Ilfracombe, who are hoping that the free parking will entice more people in to the town centre to shop locally this Christmas. One trader told Ilfracombe People "A lot of our local customers tell us they resent paying for parking in town and just take advantage of the free half an hour you are allowed from the parking meters. Hopefully getting a whole afternoon for free will allow them more time to browse and see just what our High Street shops have to offer."

Drivers are being asked to check the signage at car parks to make sure the free parking applies on the day and time they are parked there.