Barnsley’s new car parking strategy for the town centre will launch on 14 October.

The current split of car parks between commuter and retail and leisure will be scrapped with all car parks having a simplified offer of £1 per hour during the week and £5 for a maximum of 24 hours.

Free weekend parking for the first three hours in all town centre off street car parks, excluding the Glass Works and the Alhambra, will remain as part of the strategy, while the Glass Works and Alhambra multi-story car parks will be priced at £1 for the first three hours.

Any weekend parking over three hours will be charged £1 and £5 for a maximum of 24 hours across all car parks. On street parking will be 50p for the first half an hour and £1 per 30 minutes thereafter with free parking on bank holidays.

The strategy will also improve accessibility and signage to car parking within the town centre and from key routes, provide sufficient enforcement to support the efficient operation and management of the car parks and provide additional electric vehicle charging capability.

Councillor James Higginbottom, Cabinet Spokesperson for Environment and Highways, said: “The new car parking strategy for the town centre sets out our vision for affordable and sufficient parking for the foreseeable future.

“By bringing together all car parks in the town centre under a simplified pricing strategy, reducing the maximum charge per day and continuing to offer free weekend parking in all our town centre car parks outside of our multi-story facilities, we want to ensure that the town centre will remain an attractive and accessible destination for all visitors, investors and developers.

“Our town centre attracted over two million visits in the last quarter between April and June and with a host of big events such as Bright Nights and the Christmas Market to come, this strategy will allow the town centre to continue to thrive and provide the best possible experience for residents and visitors.”

The strategy has been developed based on feedback from the 2024 car parking consultation and assesses the availability of spaces, location, quality, and cost, considers existing and future demand. It aims to meet the needs of all our road and service users.

For more information on the strategy, visit its dedicated webpage on our website.

To see the full upcoming changes to car parking tariffs, visit the car parking page.