Parking charges are set to return to Whitchurch, Wem and surrounding areas as of next week, Shropshire Council has confirmed.

The charges are set to be reintroduced in Shropshire Council’s town centre car parks from Tuesday, July 14, as more businesses reopen and people start to visit the towns in larger numbers following the easing of lockdown restrictions.

Charges have been in place at some car parks since June 1 but will return to all council on-street parking.

Steve Davenport, Shropshire Council’s Cabinet member for highways and transport, said a number of factors have been considered.

He said: “With our car parks and town centres getting busier as people return to work, and businesses re-open, we’ve decided to reintroduce charges in the remainder of our car parks from next week.

“A number of important factors have been considered in making this decision.

These include our current work to encourage and enable people to safely and confidently visit our town centres and the need to manage parking behaviour.

“The need to return to charging for car parks in a manner that supports and contributes to the economy of Shropshire and that supports steps to reducing carbon emissions in line with our Climate Emergency declaration.

“Free parking also creates problems as it leads to little or no turnover or churn of parking spaces, meaning many people find it harder to find a parking space.

“We appreciate that this decision will be disappointing for some, but want to stress that we will continue to provide a wide range of free and cheap parking across the county and we encourage people to continue to visit our town centres and support our businesses.”

Head to www.shropshire.gov.uk/parking/find-my-nearest-car-park/ for more.