Council bosses have vowed to do everything they can to bring more shoppers to town centres across Dudley borough as a free parking pilot is extended.

The two-hour free parking trial ran throughout May and June in council car parks in Sedgley, Dudley, Brierley Hill and Halesowen to see if this would encourage people into the towns.

The council is currently studying the feedback to establish if footfall in the town centres has increased during the pilot period. The trial has been extended while the council looks at the data to identify the way forward.

Councillor Karen Shakespeare, cabinet member for environmental services, said:

“Some of our residents and traders have suggested that reduced parking charges could help to boost trade and we have listened to those requests. Anecdotally, people have been very supportive of the parking trial with many traders passing on positive reports from town centres.

“We have taken the decision to extend the parking trial while we look at the data on car park usage and footfall in the town centres to see what impact this has had on our shopping areas.

"Rest assured, as soon as we are able to make a decision on the way forward and what the data has revealed in terms of attracting shoppers into our towns, we will make sure the decision is promoted widely.”

People who want to take advantage of the extended trial simply need to print and display a free parking ticket from the machines already in place. Normal charges will be in place for people parking for longer than two hours and return is prohibited within three hours of leaving. All the car parks included in the scheme have updated signs to let people know about the initiative.

For information on current parking tariffs in Dudley Council car parks people can visit www.dudley.gov.uk/resident/parking-roads