The City of York Council is pleased to advise you of arrangements and pricing for coach parking in York in particular with reference to the St Nicholas Christmas Festival – 2015 and 2016.
They recognise the difficulties raised by some coach operators in 2014 and hope that this communication will be a step in the right direction to assist you in planning your programmes for York. Following feedback from operators and discussions with the Confederation of Passenger Transport, they have revised their pricing structure.
York St Nicholas Christmas Festival
The York St Nicholas Festival 2015 will run for 25 days from 26 November through to 20 December – a much improved offer for the visitor, the ‘York St Nicholas Christmas Festival’ includes the popular St Nicholas Fair but also much more… Here is a paragraph of copy to assist in promoting this festival to your customers:
York is the perfect destination for a festive break/day trip. The 25 day York St Nicholas Christmas Festival includes the popular St Nicholas Fair. In addition to the Fair there are a host of festive events at York’s visitor attractions, as well as the daily Shambles market, Made in Yorkshire Festive Fayre at the medieval Guildhall and the Festive Market at Barley Hall. Pretty Christmas trees line York’s historic streets, adding to the festive atmosphere and stallholders at the St Nicholas Fair on Parliament Street will be selling jewellery, ceramics and Yorkshire produce. There’s nowhere quite like York to enjoy the festive spirit. Book your visit now to shop, eat and experience Christmas at its very best. In advance of your stay you can telephone Visit York to request your free guide to Christmas in York or to find out more about York telephone the Visitor Information Centre on:-
Tel:01904 550099
Email: info@visityork.org
Web: www.visityork.org/christmas from mid-October.
Parking
If you are planning a visit during the St Nicholas Christmas Festival the City of York council has revised the pricing structure based on feedback from operators. The pricing set covers the costs of the stewarding team, a meet and greet service, a booking system, additional parking provision and provision of a special drop-off/pick-up point in the city centre during the festival. However, it’s crucially important for them to take on board the views of the coaching industry and they are working hard to strike the right balance between covering costs and offering the fairest rates possible. In conclusion the pricing structure for the St Nicholas Christmas Festival 2015 day parking is as follows:
A flat rate £60 plus VAT fee for each of the four weekends of the festival (note the first ‘weekend’ begins on Thursday 26 November through to Sunday 29 November)
An early bird booking incentive of a flat rate fee of £50 plus VAT will apply to each of the subsequent three weekends of the festival. The early bird booking deadline is the last day of September.(ie for 5/6 Dec/ 12/13 Dec/ 19/20 Dec)
Visits on weekdays (except 26 and 27 November) will be at York’s usual coach parking rates, no administration charge
In recent years the St Nicholas Festival has become extremely busy. To help create an even better and more comfortable experience for all visitors they would like to encourage more visits for the second, third and fourth weekends. They have therefore set an early bird booking incentive. For 2016 they will do their utmost (costs allowing) to fix these rates and advise you of pricing as early as possible. City of York Council is committed to providing a first class visitor experience and to carefully manage the arrival of the coach parties and welcome passengers in a safe and controlled way. Full details about the year round city centre drop off points are available at www.york.gov.uk/parking.
Provision
Coach parking for the St Nicholas Christmas Festival weekends must be booked in advance (pre-booking isn’t required for the mid-week). They are currently setting up a new online booking system and you will be advised as soon as it is available for bookings. However, in the mean-time, please make any enquiries for this period by Email: stnicscoaches@york.gov.uk or by calling 01904 552270 (please note this number is for enquiries about the Christmas Festival only), at all other times of year the Tel. number for enquiries is Tel 01904 551309.
For coach operators who plan to drop off guests at hotels which don’t have their own parking, please email stnicscoaches@york.gov.uk in advance of your visit for advice on applicable fees and to book your parking place, or telephone 01904 552270. The same advice applies for operators visiting for any other reason during the Festival period (eg school group visits).
During the St Nicholas Festival there is one single central drop-off point at the Eye of York, next to York Castle Museum, which is as close to the city centre as possible (N.B Coach drop off at the Eye of York is available for the Christmas Festival by pre booking only. It is strictly prohibited at any other time.)
The additional coach parking area is advised on booking and it is easy for drivers to get to and has plenty of facilities on site. They also offer complimentary transport for drivers, who wish to visit the Festival. Alternatively coaches can pre-book to park at Union Terrace or St Georges Field on a first come first served basis. These coaches can drive straight there to drop off, where they will also run a meet and greet service. Drivers can then remain parked here for the duration of your visit.
Summary of options
Park at *Union Terrace or St Georges Field, drop-off passengers and wait for passengers to return.
Drop off at the Eye of York and park at special parking site (to be advised on booking), returning later to the Eye of York to pick up.
(*spaces at Union Terrace and St George’s Field will be allocated on a first come first served booking basis)
At the drop off point and at coach parks all passengers will be met with a smile from a helpful, knowledgeable steward, who will give out maps and guides to York. Other coach drop-off points around the city centre will be temporarily suspended as using these on such a busy time can disrupt the network and block key roads to essential services like the hospital.
Once again the City of York Council would like to reassure you that they are working hard to make further improvements and they thank you for your consideration and for bringing your business to York. They value the custom your business brings to York and hope that this communication assists you in planning your itineraries and programmes. You can email any comments to Head of Visit York, Kate McMullen, Email km@visityork.org.
Finally, Visit York will launch its new York Pass – the city sightseeing card – on 1 April and would like to offer a complimentary York Pass for coach drivers to explore the city. If you’d like to receive a Pass please email admin@visityork.org, stating the name of the driver and the full postal address to send this to.
See our March issue for more on visiting York.
