Christchurch City Council will provide one-hour free parking in its central city parking buildings for the next three months.

The first hour of parking will be free in the Lichfield Street and Christchurch Art Gallery parking buildings.

The one-hour free offer will apply seven days a week until the end of August.

People visiting the central city who chose to use on-street metered parking will be charged the standard fee of $3.10 per hour.

The Council has not been charging for on-street or off-street parking in the city centre since mid-March.

However, it has been enforcing on-street time limits since the country moved to Alert Level 2 to ensure that parking in the central city turns-over and is not monopolised by commuters seeking all day parking.

The one-hour free offer and the return to charging for on-street metered parking will begin after the long weekend on Tuesday 2 June.