Shoppers in Princes Risborough can look forward to free parking in the run up to Christmas again this year.

Three dates for free parking in the Horns Lane and The Mount car parks were decided at the full town council meeting on Tuesday evening.

Councillors agreed that the three Saturdays before Christmas, December 5, 12 and 19, should be earmarked for free parking in the two main car parks in town.

As well as free Saturday parking last year, shoppers could take advantage of one hour’s free parking in Horns Lane from December 10 to December 31 2014, but this will not be possible this year.

Cllr Alan Turner said: “We have tried and tried to get one hour’s free parking to no avail. Last December, because of the new ANPR system which had a highly detrimental impact on the town centre, we were very, very worried that the important pre-Christmas retail period would suffer.

“We went to extraordinary lengths to raise funds to purchase an hour’s free parking and we were only allowed to do that in Horns Lane.

“We don’t have funds to that again at the moment.”