Alongside making parking free again in our car parks after 2pm throughout December, Derbyshire Dales District Council is encouraging local people and visitors to hop on public transport to shop in the Dales this Christmas.
In a scheme designed to boost trade, for the 18th year in a row it will be free to park in any District Council pay and display car park after 2pm throughout the festive season.
And once again this year, to support the District Council’s 2030 net zero carbon emissions target, the authority is also urging people to support Dales businesses by making best use of public transport, car sharing, cycling and walking where possible.
A full council meeting on Thursday 27th November gave the thumbs up to a campaign promoting the use of bus and train travel to help mitigate the significant increase in private cars travelling to and within the district resulting from the free parking initiative.
Councillor Peter O'Brien told the meeting: "All our market towns and many of our villages have excellent bus services, partly due to the success of the Bus Service Improvement Plan, whilst Matlock has a regular train service from Derby and Nottingham, as does Hathersage from Manchester and Sheffield. Bus and train travel also reduces congestion and enables people to enjoy a festive drink or two whilst shopping."
As part of the “Hop on to Shop” campaign, the Council is stressing it makes sense to make full use of public transport with the fare for thousands of single bus journeys in England capped at £3.
Free parking in December comes on top of residents’ parking concessions that allow local people to park free every day of the year up to 11am and after 3pm. Free parking permits were issued to all 35,000 households across the Derbyshire Dales back in March.
It means Dales residents have free parking for 21 hours each day over the festive period, which helps local people and local traders.
Provision is also made for electric vehicles with EV charge points at these District Council car parks:
EV charge points
Currently EV charge points are available at:
- Market Place, Wirksworth – one charger accommodating two spaces/vehicles at any one time
- Edgefold Road, Matlock – four chargers accommodating 8 spaces/vehicles
- Shawcroft car park, Ashbourne - four chargers accommodating 8 spaces/vehicles
- New Street, Bakewell - four chargers accommodating 8 spaces/vehicles
Cycle racks are also available in the District Council’s car parks in Bakewell’s Granby Road, Eyam, Over Haddon, Matlock Bath’s Station Yard, with two in Matlock at the Lido and Station car parks. Cycle lockers are available at Ashbourne Leisure Centre.
Public transport
Make full use of public transport with the fare for thousands of single bus journeys in England capped at £3. See the full East Midlands list on the Gov.uk website.
Plus, check local bus routes and timetables and BusTimes.org, which, as well as comprehensive timetable information, includes a facility to look for all stops in a given place and see the services that operate from them. There’s a live running information map too, which shows where the bus actually is on the route.
Matlock, Matlock Bath and Cromford have a regular train service from Derby and Nottingham on the picturesque Derwent Valley Line, as does Hathersage and Grindleford from Manchester and Sheffield on the Hope Valley Line. Steam and diesel trains also run on the Ecclesbourne Valley Line between Wirksworth and Duffield.
