Bassetlaw District Council says it is moving forward with a new car parking strategy to make sure it meets the future needs of residents and supports the local economy.
Cabinet Members met on Tuesday 14 October at Worksop Town Hall where they approved several recommendations which could come into force from April 2026.
The proposals have been put forward following the results of the council’s Car Parking Conversation, which ran for six weeks over the summer and attracted over 700 responses.
Just one of the proposals includes the introduction of up to an hour of free parking at Queen Street in Worksop and West Street in Retford, at any time, to support local businesses and increase footfall in the towns.
This will be trialled over a 12-month period, with the potential to extend the scheme to other car parks in the future. This is in addition to the existing one-hour free car parking currently available at Priorswell Road and Kilton Road car parks in Worksop.
Cllr Alan Rhodes, Cabinet Member for Corporate and Financial Services said: “We would like to thank everyone who took part in our Car Parking Conversation this summer.
“We had a fantastic response with over 700 people sharing their views with us giving us some really valuable insights into how you use our car parks. These have helped us shape these recommendations which we have approved at Cabinet.”
The survey showed that 70 percent of respondents spend less than two hours in council owned car parks, with over half using them for shopping or visiting retail areas. This insight has been used to shape a new tariff that has been proposed for most Bassetlaw operated car parks.
The council currently has four different tariffs across all its car parks. So, to make things simpler for everyone, a new straightforward tariff across most of its car parks could be introduced.
The new tariff proposals are:
It also revealed that the majority of people prefer to pay for their parking through the RingGo app. As a result, the council will offer a 20 percent discount when paying digitally, whilst also providing the option to pay by cash. This means that in some cases, paying by the app will become cheaper than some of the current parking tariffs.
Other proposals include looking at options for introducing charges at Prospect Precinct and Langold Country Park. However, both sites would include a period of free parking and will incorporate the views of local residents and businesses.
Overall, the council’s Car Park Conversation revealed 60 percent of respondents are satisfied with council car parks, with cleanliness, safety and security remaining the top priorities when choosing where to park.
Residents and businesses will have the chance to have their say on the recommendations in consultation taking place later in the year, subject to endorsement by the council’s Overview and Scrutiny Committee.
