Member of the Senedd for Monmouth, Peter Fox, welcomed the recent announcement by Monmouthshire County Council that existing free car parks are to remain in the county, but warned that more must be done to support our businesses.

Assessments had been conducted throughout Monmouthshire, where concerns had been raised by residents they would need to pay to leave their cars in town. It was reported in a survey by Usk Town Council that 93% of respondents were in favour of keeping free parking.

Mr Fox has been supportive of the scheme, and has now warned that businesses will need further support to help them to grow. There have been numerous issues impacting town centres across the county, such as the long term road works in Monmouth and the ongoing congestion problems in Chepstow.

Local MS for Monmouth, Peter Fox, has said: “Free parking is one of the tools in the arsenal of local authorities to promote footfall in our town centres.

“We only have to look at nearby Cwmbran, who have been long praised for their free parking initiative to see how many benefits it can bring.

“I have always been a supporter of free parking in Monmouthshire, and whilst there are a lot of decisions made by the Monmouthshire County Council that I have disagreed with, this is the right choice.

“There have been so many woes faced by businesses since Covid, from the extensive works on Monnow Street in Monmouth, to the daily congestion problems in Chepstow, and similar issues and works in Usk and Chepstow.

“One of the things that is consistently raised with me by businesses is the lack of support from the Labour administration in Monmouthshire County Council, they really need to step up and support our local businesses.”