A town car park that still has nearly 300 spaces free at peak times is looking to turn more than a third of its spaces to long-stay under new plans.

The bid would see almost 200 spaces at Crown car park, in Charles Street, converted in hopes to keep more long-stay visitors.

As it stands, visitors are only able to park for up to five hours if they arrive before 2 pm — after this time, the maximum stay is until 8am the next day.

Ipswich Borough Council has submitted plans to make a change to a 2016 condition as when outline permission for the multi-storey car park was granted, it was only be used for short-stay parking.

The council, which owns and operates the car park, is seeking to exclude 190 spaces from this requirement and allow visitors to park for longer.

A planning statement submitted on behalf of the council states the car park, which holds 508 standard places, does not reach its maximum occupancy, with around 300 spaces still free even during peak times.

It adds: “Whilst Crown car park was granted for short-stay parking only, local business have stated their requirement for long-stay car parking in order for them to operate in Ipswich.

“The current economic climate makes it more important than ever to offer more flexibility to businesses trying to adapt to the changing economic conditions.”

The application argues the change would make the Crown House office building more appealing for businesses as opposed to the current ‘major issue’ of having 34 spaces for up to 1,700 people.

Information submitted alongside the plans revealed Logic Design, Ashton Legal, and Clearfield Recruitment all decided against setting up shop within the building, at least partly due to the lack of long-stay parking provision.

The statement adds: “The reallocation would provide economic and employment benefits to both Crown House and the local economy and also free up local roads and improve highway safety as users would not have to frequently move their cars due to the time restriction.”

The officer’s report recommended the application for approval and concluded the plans would not create ‘substansive harm’.

The council's planning and development committee will meet next Wednesday to discuss the plans.