Council to consider future of Saturday parking scheme after six-month trial

  Published on 29 October 2026

A six-month free parking trial in Welshpool has coincided with a 26.6% increase in detected town-centre visits, with local businesses also reporting increased footfall and sales.

Welshpool Town Council introduced free Saturday parking at Church Street Car Park in April to encourage more people into the town centre and support local businesses.

Now, following the completion of the 26-week trial in September, councillors are preparing to consider whether the scheme should continue in 2027.

Independent town-centre monitoring recorded 26.6% more detected visits across 24 comparable Saturdays than during the same period in 2025. While the increase cannot be attributed solely to free parking, feedback from visitors and businesses suggests the initiative has been well received.

Of the 85 people surveyed who had used the scheme, 88% said it had influenced their decision to visit Welshpool, while 97% said they felt more relaxed about parking.

Local businesses also reported positive results. Of the thirteen businesses responding to the Council's survey, eleven reported increased footfall, ten noticed customers staying longer and eight reported increased sales. None reported a reduction in footfall or sales.

However, the trial has also highlighted some unexpected findings.

Despite the Town Council paying Powys County Council to suspend parking charges, motorists continued to pay through the car park's payment machines and PayByPhone service. Information obtained by the Town Council revealed that approximately £1,830 in net parking revenue was still received by Powys County Council during the trial, even though parking was free.

This was despite roadside signs, notices in the car park, promotional material displayed by local businesses and a social media campaign which reached more than 15,000 people.

The Council will now consider how any future scheme could be made clearer for motorists, including whether payment machines and app payments could be disabled during free parking periods.

Town Clerk Richard Williams said:

“The results are encouraging. We've seen more activity in the town centre compared with last year, businesses are reporting more customers and visitors are telling us that free parking made a difference to their decision to come to Welshpool.

“We can't say that free parking is responsible for all of that increase, but the feedback suggests it has played a positive part.

“There are lessons too. Despite our efforts to promote the scheme, people were still paying for parking when they didn't need to. If we run the scheme again, we need to work with Powys County Council to make sure the arrangements are clearer and motorists aren't unnecessarily paying for something the Town Council has already funded.

“Ultimately, this is about whether the Council can make a worthwhile investment in supporting our town centre. We now have the evidence and costs for councillors to consider before deciding what happens next.”

Welshpool Town Council's Events & Planning Committee will consider the findings on Wednesday 4 November 2026 at 6.30pm, before making recommendations to Full Council.