Anger at plans for parking charges
JON MACPHERSON
BUSINESS owners and community leaders have blasted ‘outrageous’ proposals to install car parking charges on a popular high street.
Lancashire County Council have unveiled plans to introduce pay and display parking on Queen Street in Great Harwood. Bosses say it will help ‘ensure turnover of spaces’ and make it easier for people to visit local businesses.
However the scheme has been strongly condemned by local stakeholders as ‘lunacy’ and ‘horrendous for local businesses’.
Glen Melling, of Townsend Records on Queen Street, said: “It would be very hard on the shops. It’s not like the parking spaces are always full so I don’t see how they can justify it. They are not going to make a lot of money out of it.
“Quite a few people like parking up for 20 minutes and popping into a shop but having this will nail it on the head completely.
“I can’t see people wanting to pay money to do it unless it’s a very low amount.”
Coun Gareth Molineux said this proposal is ‘outrageous’. He said: Local traders such in Great Harwood are already struggling to keep their services on the high street and car users already pay enough in road tax and fuel duty.
“The Labour group at Hyndburn understand that parking charges are regressive in towns such as ours and will put shoppers off visiting.
“Councils should be doing more to support our high streets not taxing our residents to use them.”
Coun Noordad Aziz added: “This is simply not acceptable and I will be fighting this as this will be horrendous for local businesses in the town and is lunacy. I will be fighting this all the way.”
The proposals will be discussed at a meeting on Monday, December 3.
Car parking charges currently apply to areas of Preston and Lancaster and county hall want to expand the scheme into other towns including Great Harwood.
A spokesperson said: “A number of areas are under consideration but no decisions have been made about where these spaces will be introduced.
“Applying charges to on-street parking can help to ensure turnover of spaces where there is demand, making it easier for people to visit local businesses.
“There is a requirement to consult on all new traffic regulations, so people will have an opportunity to give their views before they are introduced.” A SUCCESSFUL flower shop has expanded into a former garden centre.
Kate Millen has run Flower Power on Union Road in Oswaldtwistle since 2013 but jumped at the chance to relocate the business to the former Paddock Nursery on Mayfield Avenue.
Kate, who has worked as a florist since the age of 17 and trained at Easthams in Accrington, is being supported by her cousin Julie Millen who has joined the business after leaving her job at a bus company.
Kate, who lives in Oswaldtwistle, said: “The shop on Union Road just got too small and this place came up for sale.
“I used to come here when I was a child to get my mum some flowers for Mother’s Day.
“It’s a lot bigger, there’s a lot more potential and I’m expanding to do different things.
“We have only been able to set up the flower shop at the moment because the garden centre needs to be run from the back of the property and needs a lot of work and tidying up.
“We are hoping to get that up and running by spring next year. We have done a lot of work to the inside of the flower shop and it looks really nice and modern.”