Free parking for Douglas comes into effect 

Two hours of free parking has come into effect in Douglas and will continue until the New Year to help traders in the area recovering from the shopping centre fire.

The streets of Douglas use pay and display machines but Cropk City COuncil said all motorists can park for free for a full two hours.

Lord Mayor of Cork City, Cllr John Sheehan said: “The City Council's new parking incentives in Douglas should be a great boost to traders in the village who are anxious that Christmas shoppers and revellers are aware that Douglas is very much open for business."

"Traders were dealt a severe blow when the fire broke out at the Village Shopping Centre and the loss of the library has also been felt acutely by the community."

The Douglas Library was another of the businesses and outlets impacted by the fire which occurred on August 31.

A pop-up library is also in now in place on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturday at Douglas Community Centre in Douglas Park until Saturday December 21.

There will also be special events and activities for children at the pop-up.

“Cork City Council is delighted that a three-day-a-week pop-up library has been organised. We are making progress in restoring a full library service to the community on an interim basis early next year," the Lord Mayor said.

"It will likely be a smaller location than the library damaged by the fire, but most importantly, it will mean that once again, we will have a 5-day, 40 hours per week service”.

The Douglas Farmers Market has long been a big draw to the village on Saturday mornings and was recently relocated to the green area between the cinema and Mc Donalds. 

In the run-up to Christmas, there will be no on-street parking charges in Douglas on Saturdays – with a maximum permitted stay of three hours.