Parking will be free at a number of Manchester city centre car parks next week.
It comes as some of the city's car parks are taken over by Manchester council from NCP.
The council says there will be free parking at more than a dozen car parks from Friday, January 1, until Thursday, January 7.
Then from January 8, motorists will need to pay for parking before they leave their cars.
The Manchester Evening News previously reported how the council decided to end its 20 year partnership with NCP in favour of ‘looking afresh’ at how around 4,500 parking spaces – and the land they occupy – can be used.
The town hall council also said that all car park charges will remain unchanged ‘for the foreseeable future’.
On its website the council said: "Payment methods are changing at some off-street, city centre car parks.
"From 1 to 7 January 2021, parking is free in Manchester car parks (including the Manchester Aquatics Centre multi-story car park).
"From 8 January 2020 you will need to pay on arrival for your parking, either by the PayByPhone app or at the ticket machine (all payments are now cashless.) You must have paid for your parking before you leave your vehicle in the car park. Information about any changes to hourly or day rates will be available at each site."
Executive member for the environment, planning and transport, councillor Angeliki Stogia, said: "Taking control of these facilities will enable us to provide a high-quality parking service for customers, which is also cost-effective for the city.
"We will be working to ensure that the transition to the new system is as seamless as possible for all customers."
The car parks affected are:
Arndale
Bloom Street
Bridge Street
Bridgewater Hall
Chepstow Street
China Town
Deansgate
Hulme Street
King Street West
Northern Quarter
Piccadilly Gardens
School Lane North
School Lane South
Sheffield Street
Stone Street
Thurloe Street
