Free parking scheme introduced for Southsea shopping area

Portsmouth City Council has introduced a free parking scheme for the Southsea shopping area comprising Osborne Road and Palmerston Road.

Southsea shoppers will be able to park in the Ashby Place car park from 3:00pm to 6:00pm on Mondays through Fridays. The car park is located off Osborne Road, behind businesses in the southern half of Palmerston Road.

The scheme will run for the next 12 months, with the aim of encouraging more shoppers to visit the area and boosting the profits of local shops and businesses.

This move follows the introduction of an identical scheme in North End’s Stubbington Avenue car park in December.

Councillor Luke Stubbs, the council’s Cabinet Member for Planning, Regeneration, and Economic Development, said: “Parking prices are one of the few things the council has the power to change that can benefit businesses. We’re always keen to try new initiatives, we want to attract more people to the area and hopefully the money they save in parking will be spent in the shops.”

Councillor Ken Ellcome, the council’s cabinet member for traffic and transportation, said: “I hope the introduction of a ‘free from three’ initiative in Ashby Place will help the area. Southsea is one of the city’s main shopping districts and with this support we’re aiming to make it even more popular.”

Ashby Place car park already has free parking from 6:00pm to 10:00pm on Wednesdays to help support the evening midweek economy.