Free parking announced for Letchworth town centre as more shops reopen

With the town centre set to reopen on Monday, the Letchworth Heritage Foundation is offering free car parking to encourage people to shop local.

In a show of support for town centre businesses, car parks at the Wynd, Arena Parade, Rowlands Way and Broadway Gardens will have up to three hours free parking a day until July 15.

Mark Coles, property director at the Foundation, said: “This has been an incredibly tough time for local businesses, and we want to help them get back up and running while meeting government guidelines around safety.

“We have been working closely with Letchworth BID and our tenants to ensure those who can open have signage to help with social distancing, and have hand sanitizer for customers.

“We hope that offering free parking will encourage shoppers to support their local high street and bring our town centre back to life.”

In March, the Foundation announced a raft of measures to help their tenants impacted by COVID-19, including a rent-free period for shops, cafés, bars, restaurants, hairdressers, beauty salons, travel agents and gyms.

Pubs and restaurants will have to wait until July before they can reopen – however a number of businesses are still offering a delivery service, including:

• Garden City Brewery

• Crafty’s

• Khoi Khoi

• Vutie Beets

• Alloro

• Grapevine

• the Broadway Hotel and Carvery

• Cultivo Lounge

• Fabio’s

• Cakey Lady