Support local with free festive parking

In the spirit of the Christmas season, free parking has kicked off in the Wangaratta CBD for residents and visitors to enjoy up until Friday, 9 January (time limits still apply). Councillor Irene Grant, Rural City of Wangaratta Mayor, and Business Wangaratta vice-chair Dean Rees agreed this seasonal free parking tradition is a testament to both council's and Business Wangaratta's support of the city's local businesses. "Local business is the heart of Wangaratta," Mr Rees said. "Times have been tough and we want to make sure people are out spending their money locally with our local businesses." Parking in the CBD has been a hot topic this year, with members of the community expressing concern over the implications of EasyPark paid parking on local businesses. Amid the Christmas shopping buzz, the free parking period is intended to platform an influx of shoppers at local businesses. "The council always does free parking at Christmas time, that's a tradition and a tradition that we're upholding," Cr Grant said. According to Mr Rees, it also makes most logistical sense to have free parking over the Christmas period. "Generally, retail businesses do perform the best over the Christmas period and we want them to exceed all expectations and making sure we don't shop around elsewhere," he said. In addition to free parking over Christmas, the Twilight Shopping Night on Thursday, 18 December from 5pm will also provide a chance to pick up any last-minute gifts for those who may not be able to head to their local shops during the day. Participating stores can be found here: investwangaratta.com.au/Support/Business-Programs/Twilight-Shopping-Night Cr Grant and Mr Rees also commended local businesses for bringing out some impressive Christmas displays in their storefronts as a way to contribute to the festive spirit within Wangaratta's streets. From the business side of things, the Christmas free parking tradition is a fitting way to establish the newly reinvigorated Business Wangaratta's involvement with council. "The Rural City of Wangaratta is looking forward to working with Business Wangaratta, a positive group that we've had discussions with already," Cr Grant said. "We're looking forward to some really good things in the new year."

Support local with free festive parking

Wangaratta Chronicle, Friday, 9 October, 2026

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