Bury St Edmunds residential parking scheme
Changes and upcoming changes to the Bury St Edmunds residential parking scheme
Use of town centre car parks
Residential permit holders can now park in the following West Suffolk Council off-street car parks in Bury St Edmund town centre between 4pm and 10am seven days a week, including bank holidays, at no additional cost:
Arc-Cattle Market car park
Lower Baxter Street car park
Parkway Multi Storey car park
Parkway Surface car park
Ram Meadow car park
School Yard East and West car parks
St Andrews Flexi and Long Stay car parks
Vinery Road - Holywater Meadow car park
A valid permit must be displayed in the vehicle. Residential permits cannot be used for Angel Hill, Buttermarket, Town Centre, or Chequer Square or any other on-street pay and display bays. Neither may it be used for visiting any of the parks run by West Suffolk Council.
Please note that Zone D permit holders are permitted to park within the shared parking bays within Chequers Square, Churchgate Street and Guildhall Street. A shared bay is a bay that permits resident parking and pay and display parking. Please check signage at location prior to parking.
Visitor vouchers will not be permitted within any off-street car park and are only valid in marked residential bays.
Car registrations added to permits
From 1 April 2023, car registration details were added to permits to counter unauthorised use.
Changes as permits were renewed
From 1 April 2023:
Blue Badge holders are required to pay for residential permits
Residents of a pensionable age who don’t own a car will no longer get a free permit but will still be able to buy visitor vouchers
The limit on the number of visitor vouchers that can be purchased has been removed to ensure consistency across all zones.
Extension of parking permit hours
Some zones currently offer permit hours of 8am to 6pm and others 10am to 4pm. Subject to an update to the current Traffic Regulation Order (TRO) these will become 8am to 8pm coupled with more parking enforcement to ensure the spaces are available for residents. The consultation period has now closed and further announcements will be made as soon as possible.
Issuing of trade and non-resident permits in zones
This is currently being reviewed by West Suffolk Council.
Integration of permit zones
The idea behind this is to integrate neighbouring permit zones where one is heavily oversubscribed and another less so. There will need to be further consultation with residents over the specific details and this merging of the zones will only go ahead if backed by the majority of residents in both areas.
Review of single and double yellow lining to make more permit spaces available
This is subject to further work by Suffolk County Council.
All of the above changes follow an independent review and two stages of public consultation. You can read more at:
(If you have trouble reading these documents, please email parking@westsuffolk.gov.uk and we will endeavour to assist your further.)