Herefordshire Council’s Cabinet has today (Thursday 5 Feb) agreed to extend its planned 30-minute free parking scheme to include on-street parking in Hereford city centre, responding to feedback from local businesses and residents.
The decision builds on the Council’s commitment to introduce free short-stay parking in all council-operated car parks from April 2026 and will now also apply to on-street parking spaces within Hereford city centre. Market towns are not affected, as free on-street parking is already available in those locations.
The move aims to support short, functional visits and help boost footfall for local shops and services in the city centre.
The scheme, known as ‘Pop and Shop’, is designed to make it easier for people to make quick trips into the city, encouraging local shopping and spending while ensuring a ready availability of parking spaces.
The scheme will be implemented from April 2026, subject to the Council’s statutory decision-making and scrutiny process.
Herefordshire Council’s Cabinet Member for Roads and Regulatory Services, Councillor Barry Durkin, said: “We have listened carefully to feedback from businesses and residents and agreed that extending 30 minutes’ free parking to on-street spaces in Hereford city will help support short visits and healthy turnover of parking spaces.
This move will make it easier for people to pop into the city, use local shops and services, and move on, which is good for the local economy and for businesses that rely on regular footfall.”
The wider Pop and Shop scheme will continue to apply across all council-operated car parks, seven days a week, offering free short-stay parking while maintaining essential parking services.
The Council is proposing an average 8 to 10 per cent increase in parking charges to support the ongoing maintenance of parking facilities and transport infrastructure. Parking tariffs have remained unchanged since 2023, and the proposed increases remain below what would have been required had charges risen year on year in line with inflation.
Revenue from Council-operated parking helps fund the maintenance of accessible parking facilities and supports investment in highways, public transport and environmental improvements.
All proposed changes will be introduced through a statutory Notice of Variation, which will be published for 21 days ahead of implementation in April 2026. The Council will continue to monitor the effectiveness of the scheme and continue to listen to residents and local businesses as it is rolled out.
Find out more about parking in Herefordshire here: https://www.herefordshire.gov.uk/travel-and-transport/parking/