Paisley town centre parking initiative extended until March

dailyrecord.co.uk:

A Paisley town centre parking initiative has been extended for another seven months in a move to drive footfall to local businesses.The Free for Three pilot, which allows drivers to park in specific areas for three hours at no charge, was due to end this month.However, Renfrewshire Council has confirmed the scheme will now remain in place until the end of March.A report to the Infrastructure, Land and Environment Policy Board said the decision was made to "assist businesses, retail and communities transition" following the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic.Don't miss the latest headlines from around Renfrewshire.

Sign up to our newsletters here.Colette Cardosi, chair of Paisley First, the business improvement district behind the concept, said: "With rising energy bills and the cost-of-living crisis affecting both businesses and consumers, we must do all we can to encourage people to visit the town centre and our local businesses."Whilst we welcome this extension to the Free for Three parking pilot programme, we hope that next spring the council will extend this to all town centre car parks and look at time-limited free parking for on-street parking spaces too, to help put our town centre businesses on a level playing field with their counterparts in Renfrew and Johnstone."The car parks involved in the programme include Orchard Street, Weighhouse Close, Hunter Street upper and lower, Oakshaw and School Wynd, as well as short and long stay facilities at the Lagoon Leisure Centre.Councillor Will Mylet, an SNP rep for Paisley East and Central, said: "If it's been helping local people and businesses then it's definitely a good thing that it's going to remain in place until March."If drivers are using some of the car parks in