Call for fresh thinking on parking fees
Business owner’s plea to help town centre
ARESTAURANT owner in Cheltenham town centre has called on councils to reduce pay-and-display parking times in a bid to save the town centre.
Gloucestershire County Council and Cheltenham Borough Council have been asked whether the current 8am to 8pm chargeable parking times can be significantly cut.
Chun Kong, owner of Chinese restaurant The Mayflower, in Clarence Street, has said that with restaurants and bars having to close at 10pm in line with Covid-19 regulations set by the Government, people are only given a mere two hours of free parking before they leave the town centre.
Mr Kong said: “By 7.30pm, the town centre is absolutely dead. It’s like Christmas Day 40 years ago. There’s absolutely no one around. I’m looking around, why does the council still insist on parking pay and display from 8am to 8pm?
“Cheltenham Borough Council (and Gloucestershire County Council) want people to visit the town centre.
“If you only get two free hours of parking before everything shuts, do you really think that is value for money? It is about value for money. If you book a table at a restaurant for 7.30pm, you have to pay for half an hour - why bother?
“At the moment, a lot businesses are struggling in the day and night. So if the council really wants to help businesses and promote Cheltenham, certainly reducing the time frame to maybe 8am to 4pm could help. Otherwise everything is online, or people go to retail parks.”
Mr Kong, whose restaurant dates back to 1982, says town centre businesses have taken a hit during the pandemic with less shoppers visiting town centres, preferring to order online and adds there is even less incentive to venture out to the town centre because retail parks offer free parking at all times.
A representative for Cheltenham Borough Council said parking charges were set to encourage use of public transport and “parking income is critical to the financial health of the town”.
Gloucestershire County Council offer pay-and-display, on-street parking in the centre. An officer for the local authority has responded that they have supported local businesses “by reallocating parking bays and creating space on pavements”.
Mike Redman, the borough council’s director of environment, said: “Specifically regarding the council’s car parks, public car parking charges are set at a level which helps manage traffic congestion and encourages the use of public transport and other more sustainable travel such as walking and cycling to support the climate emergency.
“The council is keeping the situation under review, however parking income is critical to the financial health of the town. It supports a range of services, including parks and gardens, and reducing charging would have significant financial implications for the council and the services it delivers, including those which attract visitors, as well as the negative environmental consequences.
“Cheltenham is very much open and we’ll continue to work with our partners, including Marketing Cheltenham and Cheltenham BID, to support businesses during this challenging time.”
Philip Williams, lead commissioner for community infrastructure at Gloucestershire County Council, said: “Throughout the Covid pandemic we have been working hard to make sure that people can travel safely and sustainably into Cheltenham town centre.
“We have been following the government’s advice on parking, helping to keep local bus services running, and supporting local businesses by reallocating parking bays and creating space on pavements for tables, chairs and social distancing.
“In the past fortnight we have launched e-scooter trials in Cheltenham and Gloucester to provide a greener option for local trips and support the Covid recovery. For those who drive there are still many places in the town centre where parking is free after 6pm, or after 4pm on Sundays including the Promenade and Montpellier.
We are keeping a close eye on any changes to the lockdown rules and will review our response if this is necessary.”
Belinda Hunt, operations manager at Cheltenham Business Improvement District, (BID) an organisation formed to improve the commercial area, said: “We have been working with Marketing Cheltenham and we have brought out The Great Taste of Cheltenham so we are doing things to get people to come out to enjoy the restaurants, the leisure and hospitality sector that we have got in Cheltenham.
“We would love to see something that would benefit the retailers in the late afternoon and the hospitality sector in to the evening.
“We understand the pressures on the local authorities but we would love to see a joint approach by both the county and the borough councils.”
Cheltenham Borough Council’s Mr Redman elaborated on work they were doing with partners such as the BID to help retail and hospitality businesses.
He said: “We’re working with our partners to safely encourage people into the town centre to try Cheltenham’s food, drink and shopping experiences for themselves - at all times of the day.
“The Great Taste of Cheltenham campaign’s currently running throughout October and has proved to be extremely popular so far. Cheltenham’s Christmas campaign is then set to launch from November to encourage people into town for shopping and hospitality, again with appropriate health and safety and social distancing measures in place.
“To help support businesses during the pandemic, £23.1m support has been paid out to 1,836 businesses in the Government grants scheme - plus £1.1m to 191 businesses for the discretionary scheme, making a total of £24.3m to 2,027 businesses this year.”
By 7.30pm the town centre is absolutely dead. It’s like Christmas Day 40 years ago Chun Kong