Car parks in the Dover district will be free on every Saturday in December following a council rethink.

Authority bosses usually offer free parking in their sites in a block period during the festive season.

But the council has decided to spread it out instead this year - offering drivers free parking in its car parks every Saturday between December 3 and 31.

In previous years the council had offered 10-day periods of free parking across the district - usually starting just before Christmas and ending just after the new year.

The first Saturday of free parking coincides with Small Business Saturday on December 3 - a national campaign in which many local authorities take part to promote the interests of local businesses.

The council will use footfall data collected on the days of free parking to inform future policy on free parking days, in what council officer Chris Townend called “a very coordinated approach across a number of departments".

'I really do hope that residents pick up on this...'

Council leader Cllr Trevor Bartlett (Con) said: “I really do hope that residents pick up on this and they take advantage of the free parking that we’re offering in our district.”

DDC’s cabinet voted unanimously to support the provision of free parking at a meeting earlier this month.