ePetition - No to parking charge hikes for local businesses

Council response

Response from Councillor Davey Cabinet Member for Transport & Public Realm:

‘Thank you Mr Ragio for your Deputation at Full Council and your petition and question here today.

Firstly on the general point of the impact on the local economy:
The economy in this city is reliant on traders, small businesses, and in particular the tourism and the retail sector. We are a busy tourist destination and it is of no benefit to local traders, B & B’s and hoteliers or the economy in general to have people sitting in a gridlocked traffic jam in the city centre – something which happens all too often.
Using parking management is one way of helping to tackle congestion and keeping the city moving by encouraging alternatives such as parking outside the city centre, or using public transport.
We are fortunate that the city has seen an increase in visitor numbers from 7.8m to 8.6m between 2005 and 2009. At the same time the number of cars entering the city centre has reduced.
Measures we have put in place in this review to support the economy include:
Keeping prices in the edge of centre car parks such as Norton Road, Regency Square, London Road and Trafalgar Street - lower than in the city centre. This will encourage drivers to park there rather than driving right into the city centre. This will bring the double benefit of increasing footfall in these areas and a boost to local trade whilst at the same time reducing city centre congestion
We are also proposing to introduce an overnight rate aimed at visitors staying at hotels and B & Bs, to provide them with secure off-street parking at a discounted rate to support the economy
In terms of traders and business permits, we have listened and revised our proposals from £750 to £600 per annum for traders and from £400 to £300 for business permits. These rates compare very favourably with comparable authorities.
We are also taking every opportunity to promote the quarterly payment options which will help small businesses with their cash flow.
I do not believe that charging traders less than £2 per day to park anywhere in the city, will strangle the city’s economy. We do know that nearly 400 traders on the waiting list for a permit will benefit from these proposals as we abolish the waiting list and the rationing that has hampered new and expanding businesses for so long. All traders will now have equal access to the benefit that these permits bring.
This is a bold step that no previous administration has ever undertaken. So, yes common sense has prevailed’.