Shrewsbury traders fear for future if parking charges rise approved

Business leaders in Shrewsbury today said plans which could see parking charges go up by as much as £5 per day in the town would be a "real blow" to traders.

Shrewsbury Business Chamber president Simon Airey said trade in the town was still fragile following the recession. He said he feared hikes in car parking charges — which seemed "very high" — would give people a reason not to come into Shrewsbury to do their shopping.

The warning comes after it was revealed traders and visitors in Shrewsbury could be forced to fork out up to £5 to park all day in parts of the town — if Shropshire Council's draft parking strategy is passed.

Consultation over the new county-wide parking measures comes to an end on Sunday. Plans will be go before Shropshire Council in December and could be put into action next April.

Revenue

Shrewsbury Town Council has already said that it feels the proposals must be kept under "constant review" if introduced.

And Mr Airey said: "As a chamber we are never in favour of increases. These seem to be very high. Speaking as an individual I would expect the council to see it as a way of making some extra revenue at the expense of businesses in the town."

He added: "Business is still in a fragile state. I think that although we do have an excellent park and ride system we still need to look after our shoppers that come into the town in cars.

"We see it as a real blow when car parking charges are put up and put up to this extent. When such decisions are made we feel that the council should be discussing it with the business chamber and asking our views."

Mr Airey said hikes in parking charges had the "potential to deter people coming into the town to do their shopping."

Expensive

He added: "Since the introduction of out of town retail, anything that makes shopping in any town centre more expensive or difficult — whether it's increased parking charges or roadworks — gives another percentage of our potential customers a good reason to shop somewhere else."

John Hall, chairman of traders group Shop in the Loop, said he was also concerned about the proposals.

He said: "Business is very fragile at the moment. There's no immediate sign it will get better. That means it's a bad time to raise prices or anything as it will be a disincentive for people to come into town."

Among the proposals are suggested changes to the St Julian Friar's Car Park which could see new short stay charges introduced. Long stay could also rise to £5 for up to 10 hours.

Abbey Foregate Car Park could see a rise to £4 for up to 10 hours, while Frankwell Car park could also rise to £5 for 10 hours.