Background information
Supermarkets are growing in market share partly thanks to free edge of town car parking. Traditional town centres are seeing a steady business decline partly due to the recent growth of the Car Parking Tax.
Local authorities
such as Allerdale only have a legal requirement to cover the costs of
providing car parking. Yet Allerdale makes over £1/2 million a year
clear profit, most of this from Keswick car parks.
Update December 2010:Huge new housing proposal for Sullart street
will generate extra pressure...the planners have OK'd 89 car spaces for
199 housing units.
Report to Allerdale Scrutiny panel showed that after charges were increased,
usage dropped and motorists went elsewhere (Tesco and Asda?)
...5.1 The table below shows the car park usage figures from 2008/09 to
2009/10 and the variances that have occurred in this time.
Workington dropped 21.77%
Cockermouth dropped 11.13%
Keswick dropped 11.78%
Maryport dropped 22.03%
Wigton dropped 21.15%
Figures based on Allerdale Borough Council owned car parks.
Many shops in Cockermouth
are facing the grim task of trying to rebuild business and services for
the town centre. The Chamber of Trade tried to negotiate with Allerdale
for "some help, any help" towards reducing the car parking charging
penalty on town centre shoppers and visitors.
Allerdale's executive simply said NO.
Update Dec 5 2010: Financial Times reports: The UK’s biggest four food retailers are raising their bets. Over the next four years, J Sainsbury, Tesco, Walmart’s Asda and Wm Morrison plan to open a total of 18m square feet of new space. That is equivalent to Sainsbury’s footprint today. What took Sainsbury some 125 years to develop, the big four believe they can create in just four years.
Allerdale was given over £700,000 by central government to help the area recover from the floods, they immediately gave away £100,000 to the charitable Community Foundation Flood Relief Fund. Within days that Fund announced it had too much money thanks to the generosity of people up and down the UK.
To see how a local authority can encourage the growth of town centre life and activity you can look to Chipping Norton, a similar town to Cockermouth. In Chipping Norton, West Oxfordshire District Council provides free parking in all of its 16 car parks. As a consequence it is according to the town "It's a practical and attractive place to set up and grow a business. Many local businesses are expanding and offering jobs "
Chamber chairman Jonty Chippendale this week said he was starting the petition on behalf of town businesses, calling for free parking on Wakefield Road car park and lower charges across the rest of the town.
He said: “The feeling is that they are kicking Cockermouth while it’s down. For them not to offer any help is a reflection of how little they understand traders in Cockermouth.
“The council need to think outside the box a bit more and cannot seem to follow the logic that free parking would encourage people back into the town.
“We were going to hold back on a petition because we thought Allerdale would see reason but now they have refused the idea we will start one.
“We will keep on campaigning for this because it is vital to aid the town's recovery.
“Everybody knows it is the right thing for Cockermouth and we are not going to accept what the council have told us.
“Hardly anybody is parking in Wakefield Road car park because of the situation with the Millers footbridge and Gote Bridge so I don't think the council would lose that much revenue from free parking there.”
March
2011:
Allerdale Executive run by an Alliance of Conservative and LibDem councillors
voted for the following:
Amendments to fees and charges March 2011/
3.1 Increase the operational standard charging hours from the current
08:30 to 18:30 Monday to Sunday to 08:00 to 19:00 Monday to Sunday
3.2 To rationalise the designated long stay car parks in Cockermouth and
Keswick to have the charging options for ½ hour,1 hour,2 hours,4
hours and 11 hours. This would allow such as Wakefield Road Cockermouth
to change from the minimum charge of 2 hours to a possible ½ hour
upwards
3.3 Increase the 11 hour stay fee in Keswick to £7.00 from the existing
£6.00 this would give a better rationale to the pricing structure
Page 92
3.4 Amend designation of Council Centre Car Park Wigton to a long stay
in line with other car parks in Wigton
3.5 Designate Market Hill Car Park Wigton as Disc Parking with 1 hour
free upon displaying of disc with no return within in 3 hours, and also
a exemption from the time restriction for Allerdale car parking permits
3.6 Amend current pricing structure in Wigton and Maryport car parks to
the following:
½ Hour £0.45
1Hour £0.80
2 Hours £1.50
4 Hours £2.00
11 Hours £3.50
The proposals may increase the length of stay or alternatively increase
the number of users on our car parks in the above towns.
3.7 To look at the cost implication of bringing our car park stock up
to DDA standards to allow the charging of Blue Badge users whilst parking
within our car park stock
3.8 To look at the most economical and efficient way of operating a ‘discount
car park permit’ for town centre workers. The proposal is that we
sell a discount permit for a single town at a price of £100.00 and
when this is displayed the bearer must purchase a either a discounted
pay and display ticket for a fee of £1.00 or purchase the time via
our current mobile phone payment scheme. The purpose of such scheme would
allow those members of the public who find the current cost to be prohibitive
to spread the cost of there parking over the year.
3.9 Look at the feasibility of differing payment methods for car park
season permits (direct debit, standing orders)
3.10 Possible provision of coach parking in Workington at the current
charging level.
3.11 Implementation of proposed disc parking within current free car parking(Horse
Close, New South Watt Street, Peter Street & All Saints
3.12 To agree a formula for calculating the cost of an annual season ticket
3.13 Look at introduction of a 2 hour parking fee on both Central Station
and Brow Top car parks Workington in conjunction with current agreement
with ParkSafe.
3.14 'Consider' working in partnership with the Cockermouth Chamber of
Trade to introduce a pilot ‘free after 3’ scheme at Wakefield
Road."
Just for the record the councillors who seem to have paid little heed
to the pleas over parking were: Councillors Michael Davidson, Chris Garrard,
Margaret Jackson, George Scott, Sam Standage, David Wilson,Tim Heslop
and Ron Munby. (All members of the Alliance)
Cockermouth Chamber of Trade's
website
Allerdale welcomes
visitors!
Empty and under-used..(admittedly
pictured on a Sunday).
How they welcome visitors and provide first three hours free parking in
towns across Oxfordshire.
Tel 07780681066 or email