North West Leicestershire District Council (NWLDC) has taken an important step towards the summer opening of the new Money Hill car park.

The council announced today (Wednesday) that the freehold transfer of car park has been completed, allowing it to open to the public in June-July.

Prior to the car park opening, there is a legally prescribed process which must be followed in order to introduce parking charges and other parking regulations within the car park.

These charges will be in line with current pricing in Ashby.

This includes a period of formal consultation on the variation of the parking order which must be completed before the car park can open.

It will provide 150 new parking spaces for the town – a mix of long and short-stay parking.  

The council confirmed it had negotiated the introduction of the new car park as part of a planning agreement with housing developers several years ago. It adds that it anticipated additional parking would be needed as the town grew. 

The council's specification for the layout, spaces, surface treatments and lighting were all agreed in 2024, and were all completed by the developer ahead of the transfer of the freehold which took place on Wednesday.

Final preparations for opening will include installing all appropriate signage and painting bays for the long stay and short stay areas. 

Later this year, after the car park has opened to the public, a Solar Hub will be installed within the car park to provide EV charging for up to 12 electric vehicles at a time.

This work will likely be carried out in the autumn and is funded by the Government's Local Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (LEVI) fund.

However, there is no update from Leicestershire County Council on the still to be completed footpath leading from the car park to North Street.

This has run into problems as the right of way - currently little more than a track - cuts across a local business' yard.

NWLDC says it will work with the contractor to ensure that disruption is kept to a minimum whilst the Solar Hub work is carried out. However, it may require partial or full closure of the car park for a short time for contractual and safety reasons.

Councillor Michael Wyatt, Deputy Leader and Portfolio Holder for Community and Climate Change at NWLDC, said: "The transfer of Money Hill car park to the council is an important milestone and I'm pleased that we can now focus on the final preparations for opening the car park to the public this summer.

"I'm also happy to say that we've kept parking charges for the new car park in line with those in the rest of the town.

 "With the introduction of more long- and short-stay spaces, as well as the installation of environmentally friendly EV charging later in the year, this is an important step forward in our commitment to improving parking options for people working in and visiting Ashby de la Zouch."