FREE parking returns to Haslemere again in time for Christmas, after Waverley Borough Council agreed to a relax charges to encourage shoppers to support local businesses on a busy weekend in the festive build-up.

The borough-wide concession begins on Saturday, December 3, – coinciding with the UK’s Small Business Saturday promotion.

It is also the day before the annual Haslemere Christmas Market offering retailers a chance to cash in on a big weekend footfall.

Richard Homewood, Waverley’s head of environmental services, announced the move when officers met the borough’s chambers of commerce leaders last month.

Charging in all the Waverley-run car parks ­– including Haslemere’s High Street (Waitrose), Chestnut Avenue, Tanners Lane and Weydon Road – will be suspended from 10am on December 3. Charges will still apply from 8-10am – a move designed to discourage people from parking in Waverley and catching early trains to other shopping destinations.

Mr Homewood said the new pay-by-phone scheme is used by 13 per cent of customers across the borough and is proving more popular than the old system.