Parking for chestnuts - level 3

12-09-2013 14:00

There's an age-old saying that money doesn't grow on trees, but fortunately for drivers in Leeds chestnuts do, and they're almost as good.

Local chain Town Centre Car Parks has started a Bonkers for Conkers scheme where chestnuts can be used as 20 pence pieces at their car parks. So while it may not quite cost peanuts to park, you can pay for an hour’s time with just four conkers and already the campaign is proving a hit with the locals.

"Yeah, I saw it on the news. And I thought it would be just a great idea to come down and pay with some conkers."

Town Centre Car Parks have already collected over 1,500 chestnuts, but before you think they're going to get the vinegar out and have an epic game of conkers, company director Ben Ziff says there is an important environmental point behind the scheme.

"Whilst the customer doesn't actually waste a lot of CO2 at our branches, they obviously waste quite a lot of CO2 coming to and from us, so in order to help offset those CO2 emissions, we've got to plant new trees."

There you have it, planting treat to save the environment, that old chestnut.

Difficult words: age-old (very old), chestnuts (kind of a nut), conker (kind of a nut), offset (balance).