The town is gearing up for a fun-packed retail and entertainment experience in the run-up to Christmas. Ipswich Borough Council and Ipswich Central have joined forces with many transport and parking partners to ensure people from all over Suffolk find it easier to get in and out of town, whether it be to shop, dine or to be entertained.

In the wake of the closure, on safety grounds, of Crown car park, the partners have ensured there are enough car parking spaces in and around the town centre. Major road signs are being altered to make it easier for people to find the town's main car parks.

Some of the new offers already in place are:
 
The Park  & Ride service operated by Suffolk County Council has announced a number of special offers for those who prefer to let the bus do the driving. As an addition to the service, Park and Ride buses will soon be stopping at the Tower Ramparts Bus Station.
 www.suffolkonboard.com for more details

Ipswich Borough Council is funding a special FREE shuttle bus that will link the Portman Road car parks  (750 spaces) with the Corn Exchange and Tower Ramparts every 15 minutes on late night shopping Thursdays and all day Saturday until Christmas.

The Britannia Parking Civic Drive Spiral car park has extended its daily opening hours until 11.30pm and will open on Sundays, while the NCP Foundation Street Car Park’s “park all day on Sunday for a  £1” offer will run throughout December.

Commuters and other early starters can take advantage of a £3 all day “Early Bird” ticket in the main Portman Road car park and the Ipswich Village car park – as long as they arrive before 8am. This is a big saving on the normal £4.40 all-day price.

Ipswich Buses has launched a family (two adults and three children) £3 ticket for travel anywhere in the Borough after 3pm Monday to Friday and all day at the weekends.

Meanwhile, the Borough Council is opening a temporary 20-space car park in Bond Street.

Ipswich Central has distributed a festive brochure, reminding residents and visitors that shopping in Ipswich is easier – and best! This brochure forms the first part of an integrated promotional campaign which will be running over the next few weeks. To download this brochure, or to find out more about the five late night Thursdays, visit www.ipswichcentral.com

The town has a great range of stores, both large and small, and has put in place a fun-packed Christmas starting tomorrow. Tower Ramparts Shopping Centre is running a big Christmas prize draw promotion.

The Evening Star’s Christmas tree is back on the Cornhill and the fantastic festive lights will be switched on in stages tomorrow as Santa drives by in his sleigh at around 7pm. Add in music, street entertainment, markets and the usual Christmas bustle and you have every reason to head for the town centre in the next few weeks.

Paul Clement, Executive Director of Ipswich Central, said: “As the main representative for the town centre retailers and businesses, myself and my team have worked hard with Ipswich Borough Council and all of the other partners since the closure of Crown to ensure that shoppers visiting over the Christmas period are reassured that a package of parking and transport initiatives are available negating the loss of the Crown spaces.

“Given the complexity of the situation and the number of partners involved this has understandably taken some time but it is great that we have all been able to meet the ultimate deadline to have this package available to shoppers prior to the first late night shopping Thursday.”
 
Councillor Tanya de Hoedt, the Borough’s Transport portfolio-holder, said: “We have been working flat out to ensure Ipswich remains the place to be this Christmas and that there are enough car parking spaces and public transport offers to ensure there is no hassle for shoppers. Add in the restaurants, coffee shops and entertainment and it all adds up to a fantastic experience. We shall continue to monitor the situation but the Council and private car park operators all say there are spaces available in and around the town centre, even though they report that business is picking up. We are in the late stages of discussions with private car park owners about the possibility of opening additional car parks on Saturdays in December and I anticipate that we will  be making a positive announcement about this  shortly.
  
“To get our message across, we have begun an extensive marketing campaign with Ipswich Central, have put up new signs and shall be handing out thousands of leaflets to visitors to help them to enjoy their shopping trips.”

For more details on these offers, car park maps, shuttle bus timetables etc can be viewed at www.ipswich.gov.uk