Car-parking charges 'disgrace'
ASHFIELD District Council have been branded "disgraceful" for not slashing car-parking charges in the run-up to Christmas to boost business in Hucknall during the credit crunch.
The town's Conservative representative on Notts County Council, Coun Mick Murphy, fired the broadside.
He says Ashfield should have followed the lead of their Mansfield counterparts, who offered free town-centre parking over the Christmas and New Year holiday.
The result was a 35% increase in the number of shoppers attracted to the town. And Mansfield have now extended the scheme at specific car parks until March.
Coun Murphy says Ashfield should come up with their own scheme to encourage more people to use town-centre businesses during the recession.
Last year, he launched a petition that attracted 2,000 names backing a long-running call for charges at Ashfield Council's five Hucknall car parks to be axed.
This week he said: "I am absolutely livid that Ashfield Council have not acted on this to help our shoppers and community.
"Car-parking charges should have been changed over Christmas but were not. The council should now make the move to axe or alter charges with immediate effect. We need to help small businesses."
Coun Murphy was himself recently fined for overstaying his allotted time at Ashfield's car park on Yorke Street in Hucknall.
He added: "I believe Ashfield Council should have acted before this to give shoppers and businesses a boost. But it isn't too late.
"There are several options from cutting charges completely to making parking free for the first hour.
"I don't believe it is about the money, it's about the principal. Twenty pence to park for an hour is nothing. But if Tesco introduced a charge of 20p to use their car park (currently free) in Hucknall, people would refuse and would shop elsewhere."
A free-parking initiative by Ashfield Council is also likely to receive the backing of the national group, the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB).
They have praised Mansfield's initiative and, in the past, they have called on other councils to do something similar.
Paul Maloney, FSB regional chairman for Nottinghamshire, said: "We have been lobbying local councils about town-centre car-parking charges for a long time as part of our Keep Trade Local campaign.
"We are delighted that Mansfield Council have now acknowledged that low charges, or even free parking, can bring enormous benefits to shoppers and local businesses.
"We now hope that other councils will be encouraged to follow Mansfield's lead."
A spokesman for Ashfield Council said: "Parking charges are an executive function of the council, therefore set by Cabinet and not councillors.
"Following the decriminalisation of parking offences, Ashfield District Council committed to review car-parking charge arrangements and decided to allow one year of the revised system in order to have a sound basis to conduct any review.
"This position has not altered. It is likely any review will be concluded in June."
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Saturday 04 February 2012
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