Calls for Parking Charges at Christmas to be Scrapped

As the cost of parking in city centres is rising more and more people are turning against the high street. This coupled with the fact that many city centres are losing a large number of shops to the recession means that fewer and fewer people are going into the centres to shop.

Some people will choose to go to large shopping centres that are on the outskirts of town where parking is free and there is a large range of shops and eateries to choose from.

Others are deciding to shop online as it is incredibly convenient and a great way to save money, particularly in the run-up to Christmas.

As a result there are many different campaigns that are underway to see car parking charges over the Christmas period scrapped. Clearly this will encourage consumers to head back into the city centres and start buying in shops once again.

Many people are welcoming this idea and this includes many town councillors who are committed to increasing the profitability of their city centres once again and getting people back onto the high street during the busy Christmas period.

One area where town councillors are trying to scrap parking charges in the Christmas period is run by Sedgemoor District Council who cover Highbridge and Burnham. Chris Williams is one of the people who has proposed that Sedgemoor District Council should scrap parking cost in the city centre from 17 December until Christmas Eve. Doing this would encourage shoppers back into the city centre and would give the traders in the area the boost that they need at this time of year.

As Chris Williams says:

“Given the current financial climate, our local traders need as much help as possible this Christmas. Free parking would provide a small incentive to shoppers to buy in Burnham and Highbridge and also help them reduce their petrol bills by avoiding their need to drive out of the area to shopping malls.”

An incentive like this could be just what many areas need and would be backed by the residents of towns and cities that decide to scrap these parking charges. The proposal that was made to Sedgemoor District Council was backed by everyone at the meeting and the formal request to remove parking charges during the period mentioned will be considered at a later date.

In the past this area used to provide free parking up until 2007 and many people would love to see this initiative reinstated.

Whilst not all councils are helpful on this front hopefully a number of them will take similar action against parking charges in the lead up to Christmas.