THE FUTURE of one-hour free parking in Newport remains undecided.

The parking pilot was introduced in May last year, and allows shoppers to park in Lugley Street, Sea Street and Chapel Street car parks in the town centre for an hour for free.

In the first six months of the trial, an additional 62,526 free tickets were issued in the car parks.

The scheme was brought in after the Covid pandemic to help aid Newport High Street's recovery and bring shoppers back to the town.

It was a joint venture between Newport and Carisbrooke Community Council, the Isle of Wight Council and Shaping Newport.

The pilot has been marked as a success by the community council as visitor numbers increased to the town.

Funding for the pilot runs out later this year and has so far only been backed by the community council.

In its budget, the community council has set aside £40,000 — the same as last year — to give the Isle of Wight Council in lieu of the lost parking income.

In the first six months of the trial, after a £20,000 contribution, the Isle of Wight Council had lost £26,027 which was £5,538 less than predicted.

At its meeting on Monday, the community council was after assurance to as whether the free parking would continue.

Cllr Matt Price pleaded with the council to keep it going as it was something the town had needed for a long time and it had been a tremendous success.

He said: "When you look at how other town centres are performing, Newport is doing OK, it is holding its own."

Chris Ashman, the IW Council's regeneration director, said conversations were ongoing with the Newport Business Association about how businesses could help fund the scheme and share the financial burden in the future.