Birmingham Council’s policy is to offer free on-street parking on Sundays, Bank Holidays and Christmas Day. This year Boxing Day will be free for on-street parking too, making it free for the four days from Christmas Day to the Bank Holiday Monday inclusive.

Normally Boxing Day, which is one of the busiest shopping days of the year, is a bank holiday so parking is free anyway. However this year Boxing Day falls on a Saturday, delaying the bank holiday to the following Monday. Following the Council’s stated policy, Boxing Day would therefore be a day when you would have to pay. However to prevent confusion and the risk of people being fined for an honest mistake, the Council has decided that on-street parking will be free this Boxing Day.

Some welcome common sense, borne of problems in the past, if I remember correctly. As for me, I will do my best to avoid shopping during the mayhem of the shops on Boxing Day. I’ll look for a quieter day to hunt out some bargains, even if it means missing out on the biggest savings!

Please note that if you are using a car park, rather then on-street parking, you need to check the rules of that particular car park and should not assume it is free at any time.