Where one-hour free parking in Windsor and Maidenhead is returning

One-hour free parking is making a return to parts of Windsor and Maidenhead next year.

The council for Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead will be bringing back the popular scheme to six of its car parks after they scrapped it to make savings.

Senior councillors agreed at a cabinet meeting to offer the free parking again, which will cost the authority £135,000.

The revised discount covers Alma Road and Alexandra Gardens in Windsor, Grove Road and West Street in Maidenhead, Horton Road in Datchet, and Meadow Lane in Eton.

The scheme, which will be implemented from April, is to entice shoppers back into the town centres and High Streets.

The £135,000 revenue loss will be covered by the inflationary increases in fees and charges across car parks.

According to the council paper, pre-Covid data shows these car parks were predominately used by short-stay users and have been popular destinations when the previous Advantage Card scheme was implemented.

How to apply for Windsor and Maidenhead's free parking scheme

Permits will be provided through the RingGo App as a ‘permit solution’ where drivers will need an account to be registered on the scheme and there will be a two-month application process to access the discount.

Applications will start in February. Once approved, it will last for up to two years.

Because RingGo works on a ‘zone system,’ residents will have to apply for the discount in each individual car park. However, the two Windsor car parks are zoned as one car park and so are the two Maidenhead car parks, meaning residents will have to make one application for Windsor and another for Maidenhead.

Support will be provided through the libraries, drop-in sessions and via telephone for those without smartphones.

Speaking at the meeting on Thursday, December 16, Councillor David Cannon (Con: Datchet, Horton, & Wraysbury), lead member for parking, said: “We have worked with RingGo on this and because we are at the cutting edge of this, we are one of the few, if not the only, borough that is actually delivering residents’ [parking] discount, we had to adapt existing systems and break new ground with this.”

But opposition members said other popular car parks, such as the Hines Meadow car park in Maidenhead, have been missed out and called for them to be added to the revised scheme.

Cllr Cannon acknowledged adding all the car parks would be “popular” but is “financially prohibitive”.