Later this year, visitors to Brentwood town centre car parks will have more options for easier payment of their parking and will be able to pay for their parking when leaving. This makes it easier for shoppers to stay for longer if they want to – without having to dash back to the car to extend their stay.
A series of upgrades and improvements to William Hunter Way and Chatham Way Car Parks were agreed as part of a Car Parking Technology Strategy for council owned car parks at a meeting of the council’s Finance & Resources Committee this month (12 March).
Amongst the improvements/changes agreed were:
- From October 2025, ANPR Technology will be installed at William Hunter Way and Chatham Way Car Parks
- A new Contactless payment option will be available at William Hunter Way, Chatham Way and the Coptfold Road Multi Storey Car Parks
- Keeping the option to pay for parking by cash (except the multi storey car park in Coptfold Road which is contactless payment only but also offers the cheapest parking in Brentwood Town Centre)
- This summer, launching a new pay by phone provider MiPermit, this app is already used in the County Councils Country Parks throughout Essex along with numerous other authorities in the county.
The investment in car parks and modernisation improvements accompany the council's decision to freeze car parking charges for the new financial year, keep the 30-minute free parking option and free parking on a Sunday.
Councillor David Kendall, Chair of the Finance & Resources Committee at Brentwood Borough Council said, “We understand the ease of parking, how you pay for it and the cost of it, are all things people consider when deciding which retail and leisure places to visit. I am delighted that we are finally going to be able to deliver a new contactless payment option at William Hunter way and Chatham Way Car parks as this is a change residents have been calling for over many years.
“We would have loved to have been in a position to introduce these improvements and modernise the service earlier. But we have been hindered by historic contracts and we had to wait until they expired.
“We hope for the new parking app to be in use by the summer and for ANPR technology in October. As with all council car park changes, we will keep people updated and nearer the time, signage will be in place in the car parks to make clear the improvements and changes.”