Shrewsbury business community renew calls to halt parking charge increases

Shrewsbury Business Improvement District (BID) has welcomed the decision by Shropshire Council's scrutiny committee to return controversial parking price hikes for Shrewsbury back to the Cabinet for further debate and reconsideration.

February’s scrutiny committee acknowledged the significant economic concerns Shrewsbury BID and the broader business community raised regarding the proposed parking charges and strategy adjustments, marking a positive step in the right direction.

Potential impact on the town centre’s economy

Since the parking charge increases were announced, Shrewsbury BID has consistently expressed the business community’s alarm about their potential impact on the town centre’s economy.

Robert Boutflower, Private Sales Director at Tanners Wine Merchants, one of Shrewsbury’s longest-standing independent businesses, stated, "Tanners employs 45 staff in Shrewsbury, who face a whopping parking charge increase. That increase has already brought requests for an increase in wages, in a sector under a lot of pressure to be competitive. Tanners therefore has to consider such an implication for its business, and whether we move out of the town.”

“Around 50,000 customer visits were recorded last year to our Wyle Cop premises, many being ‘non-local’ on our system,” he added. “There is little doubt that the sort of increases currently proposed will put many people off setting foot in Shrewsbury, period, for a long time."

Concern for future earnings

Echoing this sentiment, Belinda Griffiths, who will be reopening her transformed business Wyle Blue World in summer, shared her perspective: "As someone currently in the process of making a significant investment into this town, the prospect of increased parking charges and the loss of free Sunday and evening parking poses a real concern for our future earnings.

“I’ve had my place for 7 years now, and during this time, the affordability of parking in Shrewsbury has dramatically reduced,” she added. “Parking prices have gone up almost every year. It’s never been so hard to be an independent business. Most of the time, the best we can hope for is breaking even. Our town centre simply can’t sustain itself if another barrier is put in the way of trade.”

Impact on customer footfall and staff retention

It’s not just independents who will feel the impact of the proposed price hikes. Elisa Lewis, Manager of national retailer Marks and Spencer’s Castle Street branch, expressed her concern about the implications:

"We're really worried about the impact on customer footfall and staff retention for our store. Accessible and affordable parking is essential for attracting visitors to Shrewsbury's town centre. And for our employees, it's simply not sustainable to work a shift and see just under an hour of their day's wages taken up by the cost of parking when they could work on a retail estate and park for free.

“There isn't a good alternative for our workers, as public transport to Shrewsbury town centre isn't frequent or reliable and doesn't run early or late enough to get many of them to work on time,” she added. “The council needs to listen to the town's businesses and carefully weigh these factors in its reassessment of the parking proposals."

Community urged to voice their concerns

Seb Slater, Executive Director of Shrewsbury BID, stated, “We’re continuing to lobby the Council to consider the extensive feedback and evidence that we have presented on behalf of the town’s business community, workers and consumers and to take time to reflect on the potential long-term damage proposed price increases could have on the town's vibrancy and economic sustainability.

“Shrewsbury BID encourages all members of the local business community, their staff, and customers to continue voicing their concerns. The digital petition launched by Shrewsbury BID remains active and has now received more than 3,000 signatures. Print petitions are also available to sign at many businesses in the town centre.”

For further information and to support the petition, visit change.org/shrewsburyparkingcharges.