Are parking fees killing Shrewsbury – your views
Friday 3rd June 2011, 10:07AM BST.
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Shrewsbury’s shopkeepers say their businesses are being crippled by hike in the town’s parking charges.They say they have been ‘overloaded’ with complaints since fees went up in April.
Video reporter James Shaw went to the town to see what shoppers think.
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As I was the portfolio holder, I can say we consulted widely on these changes over a 9 month period. The tiered charges are high in the centre to reduce the traffic in the centre (a recognised problem), and encourage the use of park & ride.
We now, following requests from businesses, no longer charge after 6pm. This cost about £60000 in lost revenue and the net increase in annual income after the new charges is about the annual inflation rate. Charges were last increased about three years ago and revenue pays for services across the area.
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So you ‘consulted widely’ and the majority said put the charges up – did they really? I also challenge your asertion that the charges have not been increased for three years.
Prohibitive parking charges may tick your council’s ‘green’ box but does nothing for the local or visitor economy or indeed the resident population whose interest you are acually meant to serve.
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We go into Shrewsbury less often now and when we do we use the Park and Ride…. cheaper and greener.
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I blame TESCO it’s there fault not the town’s price hikes. if we all shopped in the over priced under stocked shops in the town center then we wouldn’t have this problem. instead people go to the cheap retailer’s that offer all of it at a cheaper price and have it in stock. unlike those in the town center!
i think that they should sort it out
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Just another way to raise revenue for the Shirehall bosses to spend without thinking of the effect it will have on the businesses of the town. And who will pay the business rates when all these businesses have gone bust because of the decreased footfall. VERY SHORT SIGHTED .
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Very well said Kath! How can a bunch of civil servants doing 37 hr weeks with pensions, sick pay and warm offices ever understand the pressures that private businesses have to deal with. If it wasn’t for private businesses there would be no money to pay for the council in the first place. How about the council make massive cuts to their cost base like private businesses are having to so parking charges and other taxes can be lowered? You would almost think they are working in cahoots with Tesco to help everyone do their shopping there were they can park for free. How about a local supermarket tax which subsidises the town centre parking?
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Simon
Because many of our councillors, including myself, have run small and large businesses. One councillor has a shop in Shrewsbury.
We have made over £75m of cuts, including taking a 5% salary/allowances cut.
Council tax is only about 24% of our income. The rest comes from central government grants (including a % of business rates) and income from of charges for services such as parking. Parking charges generate about £4.5m and if this was lost (eg free parking) council tax would have to rise by over 3% in we were to continue to pay for libraries, social services etc.
That is the choice!
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Could M.Taylor-Smith inform us (the general public)what services does the revenue collected from the extortionate carparking fees pay for,and what area is it across.
We are informed by the Council that Council Tax pays for Police,Refuge,Fireservice,Librarys etc.
If the car parking revenue is used solely for the upkeep of Carparks someone should go back to their portfolio.
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Incredibly short-sighted strategy. £60,000 in lost revenue from parking fees? Compare that with lost revenue from taxation of all the trade that would otherwise had gone on in the town, which probably amounts to hundreds of thousands of pounds.
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What lost taxation? If these shops did make more profit then any revenue would go to Westminster, not to the council.
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Anti-motorist policies are killing off the high street all over the country. Greedy councillors and naive greens choose to ignore the consequences of their actions.
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I’m one that used to go into Shrewsbury town centre (by car) quite a lot, but very rarely now due to the charges, I guess they want to reduce traffic in the town,,,,well they have?? but wht not try a few months free parking to see if the revinue plummits?
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Yes, it’s tesco’s fault with their free parking…. Oh wait, they are always busy, what are they doing differently?
Pay for parking
Pay less and sit through a bus journey, but still pay.
Or use the adjoining carpark for free and buy almost anything you want in Tesco.
No brainer.
The same in telford.
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I was a reasonably regular visitor (along with my family) to the town centre in Shrewsbury, usually on a Sunday where parking was capped at £2 for the whole day. That cap has now been lifted and i got a massive shock on the first Sunday i went after the charges had been increased. I haven’t been back since and to be honest i have no plans to. Why would i when i can go 15 minutes up the road to Telford town centre where parking is £1 for the whole day on a Sunday, there’s more shops, more variety and they actually encourage visitors. What they don’t have is the charm of Shrewsbury or some of the smaller independant shops but i have to think of every penny at the moment so my choice has been made for me.
This is a very short sighted decision from the council in Shrewsbury and one that i hope they decide to review quickly.
Incidentally is the park and ride still Monday to Saturday only??
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Compare the cost of shopping in Telford! Shewsbury has an excellent park and ride service
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Thats not an answer, Telford doesnt need a park and ride because it doesnt have a parking problem!!
However, the way things are going… shrewsbury wont need a park and ride service ether soon, as all the town car parks will be empty!
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compare the cost? whats your point, i think there are too many expensive shops in shrewsbury anyway?, apart from the 100 or so charity shops?. It only takes 20 mins to get to telford and you save that time in parking!!
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Perhaps the council should charge the retail outlets with a higher business rate tax – a local Shrewsbury tax. We could then reduce the cost of parking in town and we’d also get an increase in taxes from the town businesses.
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I use to enjoy a trip to Shrewsbury everyweek to Shrewsbury but not any more. I think it is dying especially in the week . Since the stopping of the bus pass on the park and ride I have called it a day. I find Litchfield one of the nicest towns to shop and plenty of pfree parking. Get yourselves sorted out in Shrewsbury fefore it becomes a ghost town ..
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I recently parked at the Riverside for 2 hrs. It is astonishing how expensive it is. When I go to London I park for £4 per day at Blackhorse Road. Thats Zone 4. I also parked on Kingsland Bridge. I took photographic evidence of how ,when and where my car was parked. I welcome any “fines” regarding false parking,overstay etc.
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So our portfolio holder stresses that they don’t charge to park after 6pm,well big deal as the shops usually close at 5.30 with very few exceptions and going through Shrewsbury yesterday (Sunday)i was very surprised to see a traffic warden on duty and booking a car on Dogpole. As for trying to keep traffic out of the town maybe the North/west relief road would still be the answer to many of the problems so get a grip Shropshire Council !!
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If this a Unitary Council, why don’t the same charges apply in Ellesmere and other towns outside of Shrewsbury as there do in Shrewsbury town centre? The new charge in Ellesmere was 10p for an hour?!? How many hours will people have to park there to pay for the siting of the new machine? An hour in Shrewsbury will so be heading to £3.00
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On the subject of parking in shrewsbury, Why dont the parking meters give change? They are equiped to do so, most just require a dip switch to flicked and hey presto, change….Disgusting
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Because in rip off Shrewsbury every penny counts.
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I worked in retail in Shrewsbury from 1999 until 2005.
The public transport facilities where I live in Shrewsbury are poor to say the least. £1.75 for a *single* journey into the town centre taking 45 minutes. It can be walked in 20! Because of this it leaves you no option but to drive into the town centre.
The price of car parking in Shrewsbury is astronomical to say the least, this has stopped me shopping in the town centre now. I only goto town once a month to get a hair cut.
This I feel is only half the problem though, the number of parasites that are walking around the town centre disguised as “Traffic Enforcement Officers” does not help. Especially when they can illegally issue tickets with no come back, also puts people off shopping in Shrewsbury — but we’ll save that for another time.
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Why is it only visiters to the Town that is being mentioned, what about people who work in Town, I pay over £100 per month in parking charges just to go to work. I would love to use public transport, but when you have Children that have to be taken to school and picked up at the end of the day this is not possible.
I think its sad that i am now having to reconsider my current position and look for another job which will provide free parking as i can not afford the £100.00 per month just to park for work.
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What’s with parking in telford for a pound?? bank holiday monday three of us went to telford for a shopping trip and parked in the carpark near to asda, after 4 hours we left and the parking fee was £6!!!! shrewsbury is cheaper than that!
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Charging that much on a Sunday is criminal, maybe the Council thinks there aren’t enough empty shops in Shrewsbury and wants to add to them? I’ve already cut back shopping trips to town from once a fortnight to once a month due to car park fees, and it wouldn’t take much more for me to not come in at all. It saddens me to see the increasing number of empty shops. Shrewsbury is a beautiful town, the council should be encouraging visitors not sending them elsewhere. Why not make it a £1.00 flat rate for half a day any day of the week and just watch the visitor numbers increase! Try it for 6 months and see what happens. Visitors spend money remember, it’s not just about car park revenue, the Council need to look at the bigger picture here.
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yes they are but its completely unrealistic to expect the council to be able to operate without it, i for one woudlnt volunteer to pay more council tax
therefore what is needed (to create a level playing field for town centre) is to bring in charging and parking restrictions at the Meole Retail Park instead
this will allow more income to be generated which can go into supporting the town centre shops and park and ride schemes
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I only rarely go into the town now, and usually my partner frops me of and picks me back up when I’ve done. We used to enjoy looking round the shops together So we stick to the out of town shops like Tesco and the big DIY stores etc. Our wages haven’t increased for 3 years so we really notice the hike in prices and some things just have to go by the board and trips into Shrewsbury is one of them.
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Parking charges are far to high in the town centre. It means I now shop at the retail parks. How are we expected to shop for food at the Market hall and get it home on the park and ride? If only you could park for a £1 an hour it would be better. Plus the drivers on the park and ride are very unhelpful and sometimes rude.
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Only a fool pays to park in Shrewsbury on a Sunday, you only pay in the car parks.
Free Parking. Single yellow lines, on road parking in designated places.
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I think its more the ugly 60′s concrete buildings, the social housing and the digusting amount of litter that is putting off the shoppers/tourists.
Our pretty little medieval town is being swamped with modernisation and chav culture, its ruining it to the point where I would rather travel away to Ludlow or Stratford on Avon to get a more pleasurable / tranquil shopping experience
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Telford has both short and long term car parks. If you park in the short term ones for more than a couple of hours the price goes up to £6. Astronomical i agree and how are you supposed to know til you’ve parked. the long term ones though are pretty good value and only work out about £3 for the majority of the day
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Higher car parking charges will drive people out of the city centre to superstores. If Tesco is allowed to expand at Harlscott this will certainly drain customers from the Loop and more shops will close.
Planning permission should be refused for ANY retrospective applications as they are confident they will get it when they apply in the first place to build the original. It is bribery to offer other facilities in exchange for enlarging the store.
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