The cost of parking in Canterbury is set to be temporarily slashed amid a dip in footfall in the wake of the meningitis outbreak.
In order to give businesses in the city a boost, council bosses have agreed to lower the cost of parking over the Easter holidays.
CCC is slashing the price to park at its Park and Ride services over Easter
It will see the price to use the Park and Ride service during the school break reduced to £1 for all day.
It usually costs £4 per car for the day for up to six adults.
Drivers signed up for the council’s residents rate permit will only have to pay 80p because of the 20% discount they already receive.
The cost-cutting move will be in place from Thursday, April 3 to Sunday, April 19 and is a direct response to a week-long dip in people enjoying the city, council bosses say.
Cllr Alex Ricketts said the move is to help boost buisnesses
Cabinet member for tourism and transport, Cllr Alex Ricketts, said: “While the city is already busy and bustling again, and has been visited by some very important people for the installation of the new Archbishop of Canterbury, we wanted to do our bit to boost businesses and remind everyone why it is still a fantastic place to visit.
“And we know that as soon as you use Park and Ride once, you use it again and again because it is cheap, convenient and avoids the queues into the city.”
Most recent figures revealed 20 confirmed cases of meningitis, with the most recent person falling ill on March 16.
All of the current confirmed or probable cases resulted in people being treated in hospital, with many requiring intensive care and two young people sadly dying.
A vaccine programme was rolled out in Canterbury amid the outbreak of meningitis. Picture: PA
They were a University of Kent student and 18-year-old Juliette Kenny, who was studying for her A-levels at Queen Elizabeth’s in Faversham.
UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) data shows that 87% of cases had attended Club Chemistry in Canterbury between March 5 and 7 before they became unwell.
Health officials said the outbreak was unusual both in its size and the speed at which it developed.
All infections have been acquired in Kent, with national meningitis levels remaining normal.
Canterbury City Council runs the Park and Ride service
The first case to be treated by East Kent Hospitals was at the QEQM Hospital in Margate.
The patient presented as unwell on the evening of Wednesday, March 11. By mid-morning on Thursday, the Trust suspected meningitis.
Health Secretary Wes Streeting said: “They had 24 hours to notify the UK Health Security Agency. They took 26 hours.”
He described it as “not good enough”, but said the delay “did not have a material impact in terms of containing the disease”.
New figures are now to be published only on Tuesdays and Thursdays, should there be any new cases, the UKHSA says.
The council operates three Park and Ride sites in New Dover Road, Sturry Road and Wincheap.