SHOPPERS in Colchester could be treated to a day’s free parking to boost town centre trade.

If the idea is successful, bigger retailers could be asked to subsidise regular free parking.

Another idea is to cut parking charges to 50p after 3pm, a move inspired by the popularity of a recent 50p Sunday trial.

The recession-busting suggestions are being looked at by the borough council, following meetings with traders from the Choose Colchester partnership.

Anne Turrell, leader of the council, said as a businesswoman herself, she understood the concerns of traders. She said the council was committed to doing something to help.

She added: “We have asked for ideas and now we will take those forward and look into them.

“It is not possible to say when a free parking day is likely to happen, although when we know what we are doing, we will let everyone know as soon as possible.

“The recession is not going away and we have to do something. Ideally, we would like people to use buses and cycles, but we are in a credit crunch and we have to be realistic. Some people cannot use buses or cycle. We have to live in the real world.”

Mrs Turrell said it was a wrong to suggest parking was expensive in Colchester. Parking was only free at centres, such as Lakeside and Bluewater, because the shops paid for it.

“If a free parking day is successful, we could approach some of the bigger businesses to subsidise regular days,” she suggested.

Andrew Lubran, owner of Artasia, in Crouch, Street, is a Colchester Retail Business Association committee member. He backs the idea of a day’s free parking.

He explained: “Parking is inextricably linked to the success of a town centre.

“It is the tap which allows businesses to grow or fail in the town. Free parking and dropping the price to 50p after 3pm would really help.”

Shoppers can already get cheaper parking in three of the town’s car parks if they arrive and leave after certain times and Mr Lubran said he felt this was not widely known.

He added: “We would need to make sure it was properly advertised, though, as some of the deals we currently have are not as well flagged up as they could be.

“There are 50 shops empty in the town and another 110 on the brink. Unless something is done, Colchester will face another round of shop closures.”