A free parking scheme created by CH1ChesterBID and Chester Racecourse gets underway on Sunday (May 28) as part of a joint effort to boost city centre visitor numbers on race day weekends.

Shoppers will be able to park for free at the 200-plus capacity Chester Racecourse car park – one of the largest in the city – from 10am.

Free parking will also be available every Sunday that follows a Saturday race day throughout 2017.

The initiative was part of a new package of measures announced back in November to drive more people into the city’s retail areas over racing weekends.

A number of joint marketing campaigns that promote the city centre and local businesses to Chester Racecourse customers have also been coordinated by CH1ChesterBID.

Carl Critchlow, BID Manager at CH1ChesterBID, said: “We’re pleased to be working in partnership with Chester Races as part of a collaborative effort to give city visitors a range of parking options to choose from on race weekends.

“Our retailers had told us that shopper numbers can be lower on race weekends and from speaking to a range of visitors and local residents, we discovered that the introduction of new parking offers would encourage many of them to visit the city centre when the races are on.

“That’s why we’ve launched this initiative and we hope it encourages even more people to come and visit their favourite shops, bars and restaurants in the city centre.”

The free car parking offers will be in addition to existing Chester Racecourse schemes, which include free parking for the public at the Linenhall car park all day on Sundays and after 2pm during the rest of the week.

For more information about parking in Chester, click here.