Parking charges suspended until further notice

Council-run car parks and on-street parking bays in Calderdale are now free to use, as part of Calderdale Council’s ongoing response to the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak.

The Council has suspended its parking charges across the borough until further notice, with priority given to key workers such as people working in health and social care. This is to enable them to continue their work to support the COVID-19 response, without having to worry about paying for parking.

Cllr Susan Press, Calderdale Council’s Cabinet Member for Public Services and Communities, said:“At this extremely challenging time, we continue to do everything we can to help local people stay safe and well. Our advice is always to stay at home and away from other people unless it’s absolutely essential. But in the case of key workers, their work is critical to the COVID-19 response, and they are out there on the frontline day in, day out, going the extra mile to help protect us. We are truly grateful for their amazing efforts and hope that our decision to suspend parking charges goes some way towards helping them through this unprecedented situation.”

Throughout the parking charges suspension period, Council teams will be out and about across Calderdale, making sure people do not abuse the relaxation of parking charges or any of the usual parking rules to protect people’s safety.

People must never park dangerously or inconsiderately – for example, do not park on double yellow lines, near junctions, across dropped kerbs or in ways that obstruct the free flow of traffic, particularly for emergency vehicles, delivery vehicles and waste and recycling collection vehicles. Parking time limits are in place in areas where there is most demand, so people are asked to respect these to ensure that everyone who needs a parking space can get one easily. People must also respect resident parking permit areas.

For information on parking in Calderdale, including where to find Council-run car parks and on-street parking bays, please visit www.calderdale.gov.uk/v2/residents/transport-and-streets/parking

For up-to-date and reliable information about COVID-19, use trusted sources such as:

www.gov.uk/coronavirus
www.nhs.uk/coronavirus
www.calderdale.gov.uk/coronavirus

The Council strongly urges everyone in Calderdale to follow the Government guidance on staying at home and away from others (social distancing), especially if you, and / or someone you live with, have symptoms of COVID-19 (a high temperature and / or a new and continuous cough). This is the single most important thing you can do to protect the NHS and save lives. As well as social distancing, you can reduce the risk of catching COVID-19 by washing your hands with soap and water often, for at least 20 seconds, avoid touching your face and follow the ‘catch it, bin it, kill it’ guidance.

Calderdale Council continues to work on all aspects of the response to COVID-19. At its Cabinet meeting on Monday 16 March, the Leader of the Council, Cllr Tim Swift, announced a 10-point plan detailing how the Council will respond to the risks related to COVID-19.

The Council continues to closely monitor the rapidly developing situation and rigorously follow national guidelines. All services are ready to adapt as necessary.

Keeping well, physically and mentally, is really important if you’re social distancing. Your usual sports club may not be running, but there are lots of things you can do to stay active and still practise social distancing – go to https://active.calderdale.gov.uk/ for some great ideas. Equally, make sure you look after your mental health. This advice from the BBC gives you some ideas on how to do that.