'Pay for an hour, stay for the day' returns to Torbay for the festive season

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'Pay for an hour, stay for the day' returns to Torbay for the festive season

News Release PR8996 - published on 19 October 2023

We’ve got some great news for residents, visitors, and businesses in Torbay. For a fifth consecutive year, we are offering our ‘pay for an hour, stay for the day’ parking promotion over the festive season. The offer will run from Friday 1 December 2023 to Tuesday 2 January 2024 in selected Torbay Council car parks.

The promotion supports town centres during the festive period by encouraging shoppers to fully explore what the main towns and surrounding areas have to offer – without worrying that their parking will expire. This offer has been extended from previous years to coincide with the popular Bay of Lights Illumination Trail, allowing both retail and leisure visitors to take advantage up to 2 January.

Each of the main town centres offer something different. From the cobbled streets lined with independent shops in Brixham; Torbay Road in Paignton, which links to Victoria Street, Palace Avenue and Winner Street; to Union Street in Torquay, which leads to Fleet Walk and the harbourside or Torre. There’s something for everyone to enjoy, with plenty of shops, leisure activities, art galleries, salons, and cuisines to sample.

Cllr Adam Billings, Cabinet Member for Pride in Place, Culture & Events and Parking, said; “We recognise how important the Christmas trading season is for our local business community. Reduced parking fees are a great incentive for people to come to our town centres and support local traders. I am also delighted to be able to confirm the offer will be extended until 2 January 2024 to allow residents and visitors to take full advantage of our excellent Bay of Lights Illumination Trail. Our towns offer a unique attraction with a diverse range of retail and leisure activities alongside our stunning natural coastline and harbour areas. The parking offer has always been very popular and I hope people will choose to take advantage of it again this year.”

Pay for an hour, stay for the day

The scheme will run from 1 December to 2 January (inclusive) at the following car parks:

Torquay – Lower Union Lane and Union Square (closes at 7pm)

Paignton – Victoria multi-storey

Brixham – Central (maximum stay of 3 hours applies at certain times, see below), Freshwater and Oxen Cove

The fee will cover parking from when visitors arrive until midnight the same day (excluding Union Square which closes at 7pm, and Brixham Central which limits parking time to a maximum of 3 hours for parking purchased between 7am and 3pm).

Fees are in line with zone charges.

For Lower Union Lane, payment should be on entry and not when you leave.