TWO car parks in a Herefordshire town will not be free after March, with charges suspended for the last 12 months.

Bromyard and Winslow Town Council decided to provide free parking in its car parks in Rowberry Street and Tenbury Road until March 31, 2021 due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The free parking initiative was introduced at the beginning of the first lockdown in March 2020 in an effort to help alleviate pressure on local businesses and residents, a council spokesperson said.

Town councillors hoped the move to extend free parking would encourage people to shop locally, kick-start the local economy and encourage visitors to return to the town as lockdown restrictions continue to be relaxed during the summer of 2020.

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But the council will charge for parking at the two sites again from April as it cannot afford to keep the concession going.

Councillor Roger Page said on Facebook: "Bromyard and Winslow Town Council was the only one to suspend car parking charges for a year in the whole of the region," he said on Facebook.

"Wish we could but we would have to increase council tax to recover lost revenue which would not be fair on those who don't use our car parks.

"For the last year we have covered it by reserves but as you know they are a one off."

Parking in the Tenbury Road car park is free for up to an hour.

Charges are then 50p for two hours, 70p for three hours, £1 for up to four hours and £2 for longer than four hours.