Suppliers won't deliver due to parking - trader

Pauline Riley said three of her suppliers have stopped delivering to her shop in the town

A Jersey trader has said the cost and lack of parking in the town centre is deterring suppliers as well as customers.

Pauline Riley, who runs a fruit and vegetable store in the market, said three of her suppliers were no longer delivering to her shop in the town due to parking issues.

Shoppers have also said the struggle to find parking spaces meant they were avoiding the town.

The cost of parking in public car parks is set to rise by about 7% in Jersey, the government has said.

Constable Andy Jehan said: "The [parking cost] increase was below the rate of inflation when we made the increase, but unfortunately it took some time to implement so hence why it has appeared higher than the latest inflation figure.

"We’re keen to look at alternative methods of transport and if we can do something with the busses which won’t just help retail [on the high street] but also the hospitality."

Ms Riley said her suppliers had decided it was no longer viable for them to keep delivering to her shop.

She said: "I have to go and collect my goods at their place because they say they have to go around four or five times to find a parking space - not just round the market but anywhere near the market that's easy for them to get their goods here.

"If I still want to use their products, I've to go and pick it up."

Ms Riley said the scrapping of parking charges during the pandemic encouraged people to use the market and shop in town.

"There was free parking, so people would come down and they would generally tend to be mindful of that because they were saving money as well and they could buy more," she said.

"It was amazing so maybe that would be an incentive."

Antonio De Lemos said parking charges in town was "extortion"

Other businesses owners said they were equally concerned about parking being an obstacle to trade.

Antonio De Lemos said: "There will be fewer people coming into town because parking is too expensive - £1.04 an hour - it's extortion.

"I think they should rethink."

Nelia Frango agreed: "There's already not enough car parks.

"There's not enough spaces. To put more on parking, less people will visit town."

Dorothy Hook said she has a disabled blue badge and still struggles to find somewhere to park

Shoppers said the increased cost of parking is just another reason to avoid town.

Shopper Dorothy Hook said she had a disabled blue badge but still struggled to find a parking space.

"Many times we've come to town in the past few months and we can't park so we've gone home," she said.

"My husband has a walker and we have a disabled badge and there is just nowhere to park."

Colin Lever said there were often hundreds of spaces available at Pier Road car park

St Helier resident Colin Lever said there were often hundreds of spaces available at Pier Road car park – which is on a hill.

"From the app that we get there's regularly over 200 parking spaces available all day every day," he said.

However, business owner Lisa MacDonald said Pier Road was not practical for many people.

"If you’ve got a child with you, or a couple of children or you’re not as mobile as other people... you’ll look for somewhere that’s much more convenient," she said.

Former senator Ben Shenton said there should be free parking on Saturdays.

He said: "If you have free parking on a Saturday at least you're starting to say to people 'we want you to come in' and you're drawing them in to St Helier so that they can spend money."