Residents and visitors to Angus will be able to enjoy free parking in two popular country parks.
Crombie and Monikie country parks, operated by leisure trust Angus Alive, previously cost £2.80 for the day.
The review was recently approved by Angus Council and comes into effect immediately.
The parks have suffered significant damage in recent months with Angus Alive stressing care should be taken when visiting the parks as remedial works are ongoing.
Wooded areas in particular are currently hazardous due to the storm damage.
‘A challenging economic climate’
Under the review, most charges at Angus Alive have been frozen for 2022/23 and no inflationary percentage increase has been applied for the fourth consecutive year.
The senior manager for business management and development for ANGUSalive, Iain Stevens, said: “Customers were at the forefront of this decision with households currently facing a challenging economic climate due to coronavirus and the cost of living crisis.
“We understand that people who use our services choose to allocate a proportion of their discretionary spend on activities and events with us and the level of disposable income available within local communities has already been reduced.
“However, the need for everyone to have the opportunity to stay healthy, active and creative is as important as ever.
“We hope that the removal of the car parking charges will allow more local people and visitors to enjoy outdoor activities at our country parks, particularly at a time of increased living costs.”
Iain added: “I’m pleased we’ve been able to hold the majority of our charges with some being removed altogether and only a small number seeing any increase.
“As a not-for-profit organisation, around 60% of our income comes from donations, grants, and self-income generation through our memberships, ticket sales and venue hire.
“Any surplus made is reinvested back into our facilities to improve the experience for our visitors.
More plans on way…
“An essential aspect of our ongoing recovery will be local residents and visitors to Angus participating in the range of activities we are able to offer right now.
“In the coming weeks we’ll also have some exciting news to share on reinvestment plans in some of our spaces for this year.
“Meanwhile, we invite you to join us, our team is ready to welcome you back!”
Sports pitches, sports and bActive membership charges have remained unchanged.
The cost of someone participating in a 30-minute adult group fitness class has reduced from £6 to £4.
