Enjoy Christmas in Bury St Edmunds with even more places to park

With a feast of festive fun about to begin in Bury St Edmunds, people will have even more choice on where to park thanks to West Suffolk Council and Greene King.

And this year, they will be able to arrive in style with EcoCarriers BSE running a weekend pedicab service to and from the town centre.

With St Edmundsbury Cathedral’s Christmas Market, the Theatre Royal’s pantomime Snow White featuring the voice of Dame Judi Dench as the magic mirror, a winter beer festival and a Christmas Little Makers Market all underway next weekend, with much more to follow.

With plenty of activities including ice skating at arc shopping centre and a magical performance of Peter and the Wolf Live in the Abbey Gardens, Greene King and West Suffolk Council are making extra parking available at weekends.

Greene King is making 200 spaces at its car park off Cullum Road available for parking every weekend from 25 and 26 November through to and including Christmas Eve. The car park, which will be open from 8am to 5pm, is approximately 10-15 minutes’ walk from the town centre.

Jo Kreckler, external communications director at Greene King said: “Christmas is a vital time of year for our high streets and it’s important we welcome festive shoppers to our lovely town. Each Christmas we are pleased to be able to open up our car park for shoppers, without any cost, and we’ll be doing the same again in 2023. It is a time when community and festive spirit shine through and we work together to help everyone, businesses, residents and visitors, have a Merry Christmas in Bury.”

Town centre visitors can also park and walk from West Suffolk Council’s car park in Olding Road, behind the council offices in Western Way. The car park, which is 10-15 minutes’ walk from the town centre, is available every weekend throughout the year and provides another 300 spaces.

Both the Olding Road and Greene King car parks are available in addition to the town centre car parks to ensure there’s enough spaces in place to meet demand during the weekends up to Christmas, when the town is at its busiest. There’s no charge to use the Greene King or Olding Road car parks.

This year will also see EcoCarriers BSE providing a weekend service, offering environmentally friendly pedicab rides to and from the Greene King and Olding Road car parks to the town centre. The service will be free, but donations are welcome.

Libby Ranzetta, one of the founders of the award-winning social enterprise, said: “We are delighted to welcome visitors to our beautiful town and to support Christmas in Bury St Edmunds. EcoCarriers BSE already supports a range of town centre businesses throughout the year with deliveries, and we have recently launched our Shop&Drop same-day shopping delivery service for residents. We all know how important and busy a time of year Christmas is for our town centre and so we are pleased to be able to offer this festive service.”

Cllr Indy Wijenayaka, Cabinet Member for Growth at West Suffolk Council, said: “The lights switch on this week marks the start of host of Christmas activities in the town designed to bring festive cheer to local communities and boost the tills of shops, restaurants, cafes and other town centre businesses this time of year.

“So, it is great to have the support of one of the town’s biggest employers, Greene King, once again, for what we recognise is such an important time of year for many town centre businesses. This will ensure that there’s enough spaces for people to park, even when the town is at its busiest, helping us meet demand during this festive season.

“And having enjoyed a trip in the EcoCarriers pedicab to the West Suffolk Business Awards, I am absolutely delighted to hear that EcoCarriers BSE will be offering a service from both the Greene King and Olding Road car parks into the town centre. This will be especially welcome by visitors who are less mobile and so a huge thank you to EcoCarriers BSE for its support.”

To discover all that is going on in Bury and the surrounding area from November please visit www.visit-burystedmunds.co.uk/christmas-in-bury-st-edmunds-beyond

For more on town centre parking in Bury St Edmunds visit https://www.westsuffolk.gov.uk/parking/car_parks/bse_car_parks/