Shrewsbury BID concerned over car parking proposals

Shrewsbury BID, which represents over 500 businesses in the town, says it is deeply concerned by some of the proposals put forward in Shropshire Council’s draft car parking strategy, announced last week.

Shrewsbury BID has been engaged with Shropshire Council on parking issues since the BID was formed in 2014, and were responsible for the introduction of the popular £1 parking on a Sunday as part of their pledge to improve car parking and access in Shrewsbury town centre.

They presented Shropshire Council with a linear parking pricing option back in January 2016 and believed this strategy would encourage economic growth and increase dwell time in Shrewsbury.

Kevin Lockwood, BID Board member and Chair of the Access and Car Parking Group says:

“We are very disappointed that our proposals have not been adopted and have major concerns that the Shropshire Council proposal will drive people out of town.

The proposal seems to be hung up on environmental impact but we believe there are other ways to help ease emissions and congestion, including electric buses, electric charging points for vehicles, and enhanced Park & Ride services.”

Seb Slater, Executive Director of Shrewsbury BID commented:

“We are concerned that some of the large pricing increases proposed by Shropshire Council are not appropriate for a market town, and will lead to people choosing to go elsewhere.”

He added: “Many businesses in the town are already having to come to terms with increased business rates and this proposal would add further pressure to business owners and their staff.”

Shrewsbury BID will be consulting with its members and engaging external Car Parking experts before formally responding to the proposals.