Free Christmas parking after 1pm from 12 December in Kilmarnock town centre

Free parking after 1pm will be available within all East Ayrshire Council car parks and on-street parking bays in Kilmarnock town centre from Friday 12December until Wednesday 31December to help shoppers at the busiest time of the year..

The arrangement provides an extra free hour of parking compared to last year, when the offer started at 2pm. 

With the existing arrangements across East Ayrshire, this means that free parking will be available across all of our towns in the lead up to Christmas.

The free parking offer was introduced in December 2023 and has been found to be successful in terms of providing cheaper parking whilst still enabling the required turnover in parking space availability.

The parking offer in Kilmarnock will be available for:

  • On-street parking from Monday to Saturday from 1pm onwards
  • Off-street parking (Council car parks) from Monday to Friday from 1pm onwards. Saturdays will remain free after 12pm within off-street car parks.

Sundays will remain free all day.

Anyone parking after 1pm will not need to obtain a parking ticket or book a pay by phone session. Normal parking charges will apply from 9am to 1pm to deter all day parking and to allow for a turnover of spaces throughout peak hours. All other restrictions will remain in place.

Councillor Jim McMahon, Cabinet Spokesperson for Housing, Transport and Communities, said: “We’re pleased to have been able to expand the free parking time by an hour this year to make it even more convenient for people to park in the town centre by removing the need for tickets or paying by phone if you’re parking after 1pm.

“Visitors to Kilmarnock and the local community will be able to access the town centre easily in the afternoon and evening for free from any of our car parks to do some Christmas shopping or enjoy something to eat.”

Contact Information 

Phone: 01563 503 160

E-mail: enquiries@ayrshireroadsalliance.org

Address:  Ayrshire Roads Alliance, Opera House, 8 John Finnie Street, Kilmarnock, KA1 1DD