Plan to drop free parking 'will harm town centre'

Michael Nagals, 54, and Kerrie Price, 66, said dropping free parking would have an impact on the business community

Shoppers have said a plan to stop free parking will harm a town centre.

Bedford Borough Council decided to suspend the concession at two multi-storey car parks, which is expected to save £150,000.

The Conservative Deputy Mayor, Jim Weir, said businesses "loved" the free parking, but the council could no longer afford it.

The Conservative Mayor of Bedford, Tom Wootton, signed off the decision to suspend free parking

The Conservative Mayor of Bedford, Tom Wootton, introduced four hours of free parking at Allhallows multi-storey car park in August 2023 to help town centre businesses.

It was extended to the Lurke Street car park in October 2024.

However, the scheme has been put on hold from 3 November as the council battles with a forecasted £14m budget shortfall.

Shopper Amanda Massey said dropping free parking was "a real shame"

Michael Nagals, who uses the Lurke Street facility, said he was against the decision due to "the impact it would have on the business district, more than anything, because small businesses rely on the customer flow, and if customers can't park, they can't shop".

Kerrie Price said: "If I'm going shopping, it's easy to get in and out and it's nice not to worry about any costs."

Amana Massey also parks at Lurke Street and added: "I do use it probably two or three times a week, just with appointments or bank meetings, so that's a real shame."

James Parker, 54, found the free parking to be "incredibly useful" and "it definitely encourages me to come and use the facilities of the town itself".

He added that it was good for people who worked in town to get free parking for some of the day.

Steve Pressley, who owns a printing firm in Bedford, said free parking meant people spent longer in town and spent more money

Steve Pressley owns Printiyo, a printing firm in Bedford, and said businesses were "not happy about it".

He explained that, with four hours of free parking, shoppers who only plan to visit one business in the town centre "would be more likely to stay there and frequent other places".

The Deputy Mayor, Jim Weir, said the mayor "hated" having to suspend free parking

Weir said: "Tom, the Mayor, hates having to do this because it's one of the things that he promised he would do, and he did do it straightaway.

"Things are very desperate - we are a very small council and we can't raise the income that we need."

The suspension of free parking will be considered, along with a range of further cuts, by the council's Executive on Wednesday.