There will be free parking for shoppers in the lead up to Christmas in the county town following this week's meeting of the Castlebar Municipal District.
Fine Gael councillor Ger Deere had put forward a notice of motion to the district calling for free car parking to be introduced to the Castle Street, Market Square, Spencer Street and Pavilion Road car parks in town for the Christmas period - proposing to allow free car parking to boost the retail sector in the town that has suffered severely due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the scheme will run from Tuesday, December 8 to Christmas Eve.
The proposal got the full backing of the other councillors with Cllr Michael Kilcoyne adding that it should be looked to extent the scheme to places like the council's own car park and the one at the Educate Together School in the evenings and the weekends, while the Cathaoirleach of the district Cllr Blackie Gavin suggested that the possibility of opening up the Military Barracks car park in the town also be looked into.
The head of the the district for Mayo County Council told the members the motion looked possible - even with car parking revenues for the council taking a major hit this year, the members had budgeted €13,500 for a Christmas event which in the past number of years has been the ice rink at The Mall, but that will not be taking place this year and that budgeted money could be used to offset the drop in revenue from the free parking proposal.
