End of County Durham free parking scheme 'could deter shoppers'

Free parking after 14:00 in council-run car parks across County Durham is being scrapped

Traders hit hard by a five-week bus strike could suffer further with the end of a free parking offer, a High Street expert has warned.

The scheme, which sees no charges for parking after 14:00 in Durham County Council's car parks, will finish later this month.

The authority said it had been a "temporary" measure introduced in 2021 to help the recovery from coronavirus.

But retail analyst Graham Soult believes it may discourage shoppers.

The offer was removed from on-street parking bays in the city of Durham in April and will now be scrapped at council car parks across the county from 1 January.

Chester-le-Street, Bishop Auckland, Barnard Castle and Spennymoor will be among areas affected with reintroduced charges being at the rates in place earlier in the day.

'Businesses need people'

Mr Soult says that while free parking offers are often not as important to driving footfall as people may think, bringing back charges could still mean further woes for businesses recovering from the impact of the recent Go North East bus strikes, which saw many services grind to halt.

"It has not been a game-changer, but it's been a good thing to have," Mr Soult said of the scheme.

"The danger with the timing of this announcement is that it comes not long after businesses had a horrible experience with bus strikes, which was really damaging for trade.

"The end of free parking puts out a message of 'go away' at a time when businesses need people to come."

Mr Soult, who currently works with independent traders in Chester-le-Street and the city of Durham, added: "We're doing a lot to encourage people to return and will be disappointed if the messaging about parking undermines that."

Retail consultant Graham Soult worries bringing back parking charges after 14:00 could deter shoppers

Shoppers in Chester-le-Street were not supportive of the move to reintroduce the charges.

'People won't pay'

Mick Tadman, 68, said: "People won't pay to shop here, they'll just head up to Washington or the Metrocentre [in Gateshead] where parking is free."

Tracy Cockin, 63, called on the council to rethink its plans, adding: "It's definitely going to hit businesses. People won't be able to nip in and do some quick shopping."

The authority said it had held off reintroducing the charges until after the Christmas trading period.

Dave Lewin, the authority's strategic traffic manager, added the move would "help increase [the] turnover of spaces" and that people could use public transport or park-and-ride facilities as an alternative to driving to shops.