Council's gift: Free parking

Council has approved a gift of free parking for shoppers making last-minute present purchases.Photo/John Stone

Christmas shoppers will get a present from the Whangarei District Council on Christmas Eve tomorrow - free parking downtown to help with last-minute festive purchases.

Whangarei District Council members voted on Wednesday to set aside the normal parking charges in the central city tomorrow as a pre-Christmas gesture of goodwill.

The move will cost the council about $5500 in lost parking revenue. But while parking will be free, those exceeding the normal parking limit for those spots will get ticketed.

The council said the aim was to make Christmas shopping just a little less stressful for people caught up in the last-minute dash.

The council has also asked for people working in the middle of town tomorrow to join in the Christmas spirit and leave parking close to their workplaces open for shoppers.

Council's parking enforcement officers would still be patrolling and enforcing rules on warrants of fitness, car registrations and time restrictions tomorrow.

Councillor Brian McLachlan said he supported the free parking, even though it meant potentially losing the parking fees, while Councillor Shelley Deeming said it was a fantastic opportunity to see how such an initiative would pan out. "I think it's a great idea," Ms Deeming said.

Mayor Sheryl Mai said the plan would help make things less stressful for those doing their last-minute Christmas shopping.

"The time restrictions [for each parking area] will still be enforced and if people think they can park there all day they will get a ticket," Ms Mai said.