The future of car parking in Lancaster city centre is being discussed by councillors this week.
Tuesday’s meeting of Lancaster City Council’s Cabinet will discuss the new city centre parking strategy tomorrow (Tuesday, July 8).
The strategy, which has been revised following consultation with businesses and the community last year, has been recommended for approval, with a report stating that the plans will give parking clarity to everyone and also the council’s broader goals for the local economy, housing and climate action.
In addition, it will link to council budget plans and wider regional transport decisions, with this new report focussing on sites owned, or available by lease, to the city council.
Previously, the council's draft car parking strategy has been widely criticised by local businesses, who are worried it will make parking in the city even more difficult for shoppers.
Read more: INTERVIEWS: Strong words from Lancaster businesses as concerns grow over future of car parking
In October 2024, the council announced plans to work towards providing 1400 to 1500 car parking spaces in the city centre in future, after previously targeting 1300 to 1400 spaces.
There are officially currently a total of 1624 parking spaces in city council-run car parks in Lancaster city centre.
This includes permit-holders only car parking (which are not available for general use) and the 287-space Castle Car Park, which is currently closed for refurbishment due to safety reasons.
Read more: Council raises target for car parking spaces in Lancaster after public backlash
It also suggested that three permit-only car parks in Lancaster would be converted to short-stay within the next three years, parking at the car park opposite the old Kingsway bus station would be expanded to create 20-70 new long-stay spaces, and 70-150 temporary coach and car parking spaces would also be created on council land at locations to be confirmed.
This would be to counteract the planned loss of parking spaces when new housing is built on the St Leonardsgate car parks (close to the Grand Theatre) and Nelson Street car park (close to Lancaster Town Hall) as part of the planned Canal Quarter development.
Up to 1,584 general parking spaces could be available by late 2028, with on paper, the city council currently having a total of 1,624 spaces, of which around 1,589 are available for general use by the public.
You can read more details about the strategy here
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