Shop owners call for parking charge changes

Parking charges in Kingswood are being blamed by local traders for a drop in customers and sales

Shops and businesses have formed an alliance to highlight how parking charges introduced three months ago are impacting on trade.

The Kingswood Business Alliance said it was collating figures on footfall and customer spending since the new charges were introduced in May in the South Gloucestershire town.

Kate Carter, who manages the Indoor Market and Café, said some retailers were "really struggling" and they want the first hour of parking to be free in all of the car park spaces.

South Gloucestershire Council's cabinet member for communities and local place, Sean Rhodes, has defended the move and said there were consultations with businesses prior to implementing parking charges.

Drivers are being charged 70p for the first hour in short-stay car parks, rising to £5 for up to four hours.

Blue badge holders can continue to park for free for up to four hours at Kings Chase Shopping Centre. There are also three allocated spaces where parking is free for the first half hour.

Business owner Kate Carter says she is worried about the impact the new car parking charges are having

In May an open letter was sent to South Gloucestershire Council asking them to rethink the scheme, which local shops said posed a "significant threat" to the town.

Three months on, and firms on the high street, Regent Street and Two Mile Hill say they are seeing a real impact on business.

Ms Carter said: "The problem is that people are coming into the town centre still, but with a very specific purpose, so they're doing the task that they have come in to do and then leaving again.

"They are not taking time to wonder, to browse, to drop into other shops that they might not have planned to, to stop and have a coffee or chat with a friend because they are conscious of the fact that they need to get back to their car."

Sean Rhodes said the council is monitoring the effects of the new charges

She said an additional impact is that staff in retail and hospitality are on minimum wages and also need to park.

"There is an extended permit system which is cheaper than paying at the machines daily, but it is still a significant amount of money when you are looking at what those people earn," she added.

Mr Rhodes said the council was monitoring the effects of the adjustments and while the authority "saw an initial dip in usage of the carpark, people are returning to using it and numbers are increasing".

"We need to see the impact that it's having on businesses and I made a commitment to businesses across the area that we will have that discussion once the parking charges have had time to bed in and we've seen people adjust to them to understand what the long term impact is going to be".