Discounted car parking in this Lancashire town centre in run-up to Christmas

People wanting to enjoy the festive season while shopping or eating out will be able to park for three hours for just £1.

Blackpool Council and the Town Centre BID company have joined forces to offer residents and visitors the opportunity to park for the discounted rate on most of its town centre car parks.

The offer runs from November 17, just ahead of the start of the town’s biggest ever programme of Christmas entertainment, and will run until January 3.

The programme includes free skating on a synthetic rink in front of The Blackpool Tower, a traditional festive market in and around the Winter Gardens, and a huge selection of themed events, shows and attractions.

Blackpool Council’s cabinet member for business, enterprise and job creation, Cllr Mark Smith, said: “We are delighted to be able to re-introduce the highly-popular £1 parking offer for an extended period in the run-up to Christmas.

“Given the significant impact of lockdowns and tier restrictions last Christmas, this is an important year for the retail, leisure and hospitality sectors and we want to give them every opportunity to benefit from additional trade.

“There is already a fantastic programme of Christmas entertainment lined up from mid-November onwards to complement an Illuminations season which runs until January 3.

“We hope that this parking offer will further encourage residents to shop in their own town centre this Christmas and will also provide an attractive deal for visitors coming from out-of-town.”

The resort’s festive programme will be officially launched on Friday November 19 at the planned Christmas By The Sea village on the Tower Festival Headland which will feature the skating rink, snowfalls, log cabins, a magic forest and new projection shows.

On the same night, the town centre Christmas lights featuring a spectacular 40ft Christmas tree in St John’s Square will be switched on.

Michael Williams, chair of the Town Centre BID, added: “Blackpool town centre has a great deal to offer to shoppers with a vastly-improved range of cafes and restaurants, as well as a mix of independent and national brands. 

“We hope the discounted parking offer will be a great incentive for people to not just shop in Blackpool this Christmas, but also enjoy some of the brilliant entertainment that has been lined up.”

Houndshill Shopping Centre will be running late night shopping every Thursday in December leading up to Christmas.

For full details of Blackpool’s Christmas programme including pantos, shows and party nights, go to: visitblackpool.com/Christmas

The parking offer can only be redeemed using the PayByPhone system.

All you need to do is download the PayByPhone app and register, or call 0800 546 0609. 

Three-hour sessions are limited to one per day after which normal tariffs apply.

Filey Place and Talbot Multi-Storey car parks are not included in the offer.