Last year Sunderland’s Conservative councillors argued the case for free parking in the city centre in the run-up to Christmas.
We wanted this to help compete with other centres in the region – increasing footfall and helping local business.
We were told it couldn’t be done and, even if it could, would be too expensive.
Now the Labour Council has relented and there will be some free parking before Christmas. We hope it will continue into 2014.