Businesses in Chippenham town centre are being urged to take advantage of a new scheme that offers them cheap parking for staff on low incomes.
The project has been launched by Chippenham Business Improvement District (BID), the organisation promoting the town to bring in more visitors and improve it for residents, in partnership with town charity Chippenham Borough Lands.
Thirty spaces will be available at a heavily-discounted rate of £10 a month each in the Chippenham Borough Lands car park off Westmead Lane. They will be allocated to businesses on a ballot basis. To take part, businesses must submit an application and provide evidence of the salaries of those employees using the spaces.
Chippenham BID manager Carolyn Brownell said the scheme fitted in with one of the key objectives in the BID’s business plan – to look at the impact of town centre parking issues on businesses and visitors.
“We know that many workers on the National Minimum Wage are struggling to afford the cost of parking,” she said. “This first initiative is designed specifically to help our local workers and also to help businesses keep their employees.”
Chippenham Borough Lands executive officer Phil Tansley said the new scheme coincided with work to install a new barrier entry system at the Westmead Lane car park, which is used by local residents and organisations with car parking permits.
“The new system will improve the car park for current users as well as give us an opportunity to allocate some space for low income workers,” he said.
The Chippenham BID – one of more than 200 across the country – was launched last November after being approved by town centre businesses in a ballot.
Over a five-year period it aims to raise and invest more than £1.5m in projects to better manage and promote the town centre and ensure Chippenham is a safe, clean and welcoming town.
Pictured, from left: Phil Tansley of Chippenham Borough Lands, Carolyn Brownell, Chippenham BID manager and Chippenham Borough Lands trustee Ian Humphrey
