A free parking scheme at Chester Racecourse is being brought back to the city as part of a continued effort to boost city centre visitor numbers.

Visitors will be able to take advantage of free parking at the 450-capacity Chester Racecourse car park on the last Sunday of every month until the 2018 season gets under way in May.

Starting on Sunday, January 28, the car park will be free between 10am and 5pm in a joint initiative between Chester Race Company and CH1ChesterBID, which represents city centre businesses.

After the race season gets under way, free parking will be made available every Sunday that follows a Saturday race day to encourage additional city centre footfall.

The scheme will then return to the last Sunday of every month for the remainder of 2018 when the race season concludes at the end of September.

BID manager at CH1ChesterBID Carl Critchlow

Carl Critchlow, BID Manager at CH1ChesterBID – the city’s Business Improvement District – said: “It’s fantastic that we’re once again able to work in partnership with Chester Racecourse to reinstate this free parking initiative that proved to be a real success in 2017.

“Shoppers have told us that the offer of free parking gives them a genuine incentive to visit the city centre on race day weekends and we know that our 500-strong members – Chester city centre’s bars, shops and restaurants – value this scheme because it encourages more shoppers into our city centre.

“With the popular Free After 3 car parking initiative set to be removed over the next few months, it’s become even more important that we do everything we can to make parking in the city centre as accessible as possible. We’re thankful to Chester Racecourse for agreeing to the scheme for another year and we hope shoppers will take full advantage of the free parking on offer throughout the year.”

Richard Thomas, chief executive of Chester Race Company

Richard Thomas, chief executive of Chester Race Company, knows a successful Chester city centre is good for business.

He said:“We’re pleased to be able to facilitate this initiative for a consecutive year in collaboration with CH1ChesterBID. We received positive feedback from the scheme in 2017 and welcome the opportunity to be able to offer free parking again this year, enticing shoppers and visitors to the city.”

The full list of free parking days at Chester Racecourse are as follows: Sunday, January 28; Sunday, February 25; Sunday, March 25; Sunday, April 29; Sunday, May 27; Sunday, July 1; Sunday, July 15; Sunday, July 29; Sunday, September 2; Sunday, September 16; Sunday, September 30; Sunday, October 28; Sunday, November 25 and Sunday, December 30.

The racecourse’s Linenhall car park remains free after 2pm during the week and free every Sunday for the time-being.

For more information about parking in Chester, click here.