Shrewsbury shopkeepers demand action on parking fees
Thursday 2nd June 2011, 5:17PM BST.
Angry traders in Shrewsbury unveiled their own action plan today to save town centre businesses they say are being crippled by a hike in car parking charges.
Members of Shrewsbury Business Chamber said Shropshire Council needed to take immediate action to avoid “irreparable” damage to town centre traders.
Peter Bettis, chamber chairman, called for town councils to take on the management and maintenance of car parks so charges could be agreed with local traders.
They say they have been overloaded with complaints since the council hiked up its car parking fees in April.
Mr Bettis said: “I would like to repeat our plea to the council to help save Shrewsbury town centre. We appreciate that Shropshire Council has more important issues than market town car parking, therefore we would suggest to transfer the budget for administration and maintenance to the town councils to enable local people to deal more effectively with local issues.”
Simon Airey, president of the business chamber, said: “If they don’t do something they could do irreparable damage to the heart of this town.”
Simon Jones, Shropshire Council’s cabinet member for transport, today defen-ded the car parking charges.
He said: “The majority of car parking charges in Shrewsbury have gone up only by the agreed inflationary amount and the revenue generated by this is ploughed back into providing essential services.”
Speaking to the Shop in the Loop group last night, Quentin Morgan, of Morgans restaurant, said town Sunday trade had been killed off by massive hikes in fees – from £2.50 for a whole day to £3.10 for two hours.
“People just will not come into town,” he said.
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Used to love coming to Shrewsbury for the day shopping on a weekend but the rises in parking costs have made other centres within a short distance ie Telford more popular
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Only a fool pays to park in Shrewsbury on a Sunday.I have seen people going to park in the multi-story car park and paying for the privilege when you can park on single yellow lines for free,and on street parking. You only pay to use the car parks.
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