Truro’s free parking stays free, but not without a catch

Park for free on Lemon Street or Kenwyn Street at the moment and nobody asks any questions. Under new proposals, you would still park for free, but the car itself would need to check in first.

What’s changing on Truro’s streets

Cornwall Council is consulting on a new way of managing on-street parking at ten locations across Truro city centre: Castle Street, Little Castle Street, River Street, Kenwyn Street, Lemon Street, Tabernacle Street, Chapel Hill, Hendra Road, St George’s Road and Station Road.

All of these are currently free, limited-waiting bays. Under the proposals, that free period would stay exactly as it is, but every driver who parks would first need to start a parking session, using an app, a phone line or a card-only machine (no cash). Anyone who wants to stay longer than the free allowance could then pay to extend, up to the maximum stay allowed at that spot.

Truro City Council is sharing the proposals on behalf of Cornwall Council, which runs on-street parking, so that residents know they are happening and can respond.

How the free period will actually work

The free minutes themselves don’t change. If a bay currently allows two hours free, a driver who leaves within two hours would start a free session and pay nothing at all.

The point of the session is timing. It logs exactly when a car arrived, which Cornwall Council says will let Civil Enforcement Officers check whether a vehicle has overstayed in a single visit, rather than returning later or watching a bay for a while to prove it. Drivers won’t be able to string two free sessions together, or two paid ones: a two-hour no-return period applies to every bay in the scheme.

Sunday charges arrive in the city centre

Castle Street, Little Castle Street, River Street, Kenwyn Street, Lemon Street and Tabernacle Street currently only operate Monday to Saturday. Under the proposals, all six would run seven days a week, Monday to Sunday, 8am to 6pm.

Chapel Hill, Hendra Road, St George’s Road and Station Road would keep their existing Monday to Saturday, 8am to 6pm hours.

Blue Badge holders are unaffected either way. They would stay exempt from both the charges and the session requirement, with no change to how they park now. Loading would also continue in the affected bays, as long as a Civil Enforcement Officer can see and verify it’s genuinely happening.

Keeping the granite and the character

Truro sits within a conservation area, and Cornwall Council says the scheme has been worked up with its Conservation Officer to keep the visual impact down. A small number of granite paving slabs will need to be cut or removed at some sites to fit the equipment, kept to a minimum.

River Street would get two new footway build-outs to house parking machines, built using specially sourced granite kerbs and infilled with reclaimed granite setts already lifted from elsewhere in Truro, rather than new material.

Why Cornwall Council wants to do this

The stated aim is less traffic circling for a space and fewer vehicles gridlocking demand hotspots, plus a system that’s easier to enforce and a bit more flexible for anyone who genuinely needs to stay longer than the free window.

The consultation runs until Friday 2 October, and Truro City Council is encouraging anyone with a view to put it directly to Cornwall Council through its consultation survey rather than to the city council itself. Whether it goes ahead depends on what comes back.