A BUSY multi-storey car park in the middle of a major city will close from for “essential maintenance”.
Newarke Street car park in Leicester, just a ten-minute walk away from the busy shopping centre, Highcross, is an ideal parking spot for many.
Undoubtedly, this news may alter some of Leicester’s shoppers’ parking plans.
Leicester City Council has stated that Newarke Street car park will otherwise be closed all weekend.
This is due to “essential maintenance” reasons, the council announced.
Ashley Snookes, Leicester City Council traffic and parking manager, said: “We need to carry out essential repairs to the flooring throughout this busy and well-used car park.
“The only way we can safely do this is by closing it to all vehicles for a couple of days while the work is completed.
“We will be working hard to keep any disruption and inconvenience to a minimum.”
Warning signs will be displayed to alert drivers about the closure.
The council have pledged that the car park will reopen at 6:30 am on Monday and in the meantime, other council-managed car parks in the city centre will be open as normal.
This includes Haymarket multi-storey car park.
Haymarket multi-storey car park is only a 15-minute walk away from Newarke Street car park.
Potentially, an ideal alternative.
To park in Newarke Street or Haymarket car park, prices don’t differ.
For up to an hour it’ll cost you £2, up to three hours is £4, up to four hours is £5, up to six hours is £7, up to nine hours is £10, up to 12 hours is £12.
Alternatively, a “night owl”, from 5 pm-6 am is £2.
CAR insurance is an essential cost that you hope to never use but will need to cover the costs of theft or damage to your vehicle.
t’s a legal requirement to have car insurance, and going without it could land you with a £300 fine, six penalty points on your licence and even a criminal conviction.
But there are several ways to slash your premiums.
Pay upfront
Insurers give you the choice of paying for insurance monthly or upfront.
Paying monthly spreads the cost of your cover but the insurer adds interest charges which means the average motorist pays around ten per cent more overall.
If you pay for your car insurance annually you don’t pay any interest.
A typical motorist can save up to £225 a year by paying in one go, according to comparison site MoneySuperMarket.
Increase your excess
The excess is what you agree to pay each time you need to make a claim on your policy.
You can usually choose your own excess when setting up a policy and it can be as low as £100 and as high as £500 or more.
The higher your excess, the lower your premium and vice versa.
This means you could bring the cost of your insurance down by agreeing to pay more if you do need to make a claim.
But before you hike your excess, make sure you would be able to pay in the event that you do need to make a claim.
Tweak your job
Certain jobs are seen as more risky than others for insurance purposes.
Making small but accurate changes to your job title can save you money.
For example, swapping your role from “chef” to “caterer” can save you £20, comparison site GoCompare found.
And changing your role from “fast food delivery driver” to “delivery driver” could save you £40.
But lying about your job could invalidate your policy so make sure any changes are legitimate and accurate.
Shop around
Not all comparison sites have the same range of insurers so to get the best price it’s a good idea to check two or three from Go Compare, Comparethemarket, MoneySupermarket and Confused.com.
Insurer Direct Line is also not on comparison sites so check its prices directly.
You can also get a free cash bonus by going via a cashback site such as Topcashback or Quidco.
Save the date
Renewing your car insurance sooner rather than later could save you some cash.
New cover becomes more expensive the closer you get to the renewal date.
But you can buy your car insurance up to 29 days before the policy start date and ‘lock in’ the price you’re quoted on that day.
A typical driver can save up to £265 buying new cover at least 27 days before their current policy ends, according to Go Compare
