All three park and ride services in Canterbury will return in full next month - bringing with it the cancellation of the council's reduced parking rates elsewhere.

In a move hoped to boost footfall and spending in the city centre, the buses will be running their usual routes from New Dover Road, Wincheap and Sturry Road.

It means the 50p tariff for those who have been using the car parks and walking into the city during lockdown, will come to an end.

The £3.50 all-day rate at Holmans Meadow, Station Road West and Castle Street multi-storey car parks will also stop.

The reduced charges had been put in place to help shop workers and others park for an affordable price as the city got back on its feet.

The park and ride services will be reintroduced on Wednesday, September 2 - coinciding with the time most children go back to school.

Council leader Rob Thomas said: “The return of the popular park and ride service is another small but very positive step towards the city centre returning to a semblance of normality.

“I know businesses in Canterbury have worked extremely hard to make shopping, eating and drinking in the city reassuringly safe and secure and we hope the return of park and ride will help boost footfall and their tills at an enormously difficult and challenging time.

“Encouraging people to leave their cars on the outskirts and to use Park and Ride for the remainder of their journey will continue to play a key role in our fight to improve air quality across the centre of Canterbury.”

Despite the service getting back up and running, the terminal buildings at each site will remain shut.

The pricing will be the usual £3.50 charge per vehicle. Customers pay via a tap of the card, and do not need to handle loose change.

As with journeys on other buses, passengers will need to take a number of now-familiar precautions - including wearing a face mask, sitting diagonally to the person in the row in front and behind, and sitting one person to a double seat unless with someone from your social bubble.

Stagecoach, which operates the service on the council’s behalf, will be cleaning the handrails, bells, seats, poles and all other interior on a daily basis.

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