FREE parking will return to Westbury town centre in the hope it will encourage more people to shop locally.

The town council has set aside some of its budget to fund the scheme and voted to go ahead with two free hours of parking at a council meeting earlier this month.

It will cost the town council £35,727 a year to secure free parking for two hours in High Street car park, as it will have to pay car park owners Wiltshire Council what it would expect to receive in parking fees.

The council will monitor the scheme’s success by asking business owners if they notice an increase in customers - and could not be continued if they find it does not have the desired effect.

Cllr Ian Cunningham, chairman of the Town Improvement Group, hopes the scheme will revitalise the struggling town centre.

“Hopefully this will encourage people to head into Westbury town centre. We see it as one of the best ways to help businesses flourish.”