Traders say parking scheme has left them 'fighting for survival' (From Times Series)
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Traders say Barnet's parking scheme has left them 'fighting for survival'
11:01am Tuesday 16th October 2012 in News
By Natalie O'Neill
Distraught traders are worried about the future of their high street as they claim Barnet’s parking scheme is to blame for a 40 per cent decrease in business.
Business owners congregated at The Bohemia in High Road, North Finchley, last night to discuss their concerns about cashless parking driving customers away from the area.
They claim trade has fallen dramatically since Barnet Council removed parking meters and replaced them with the pay-by-phone system.
Paul Shea has owned general store, Tally Ho Discount, for 20 years. He said: “You can pin point to the day our figures went down when pay-by-cash machines were taken away.
"Business has never been so bad.”
Helen Michael, owner of Cafe Buzz, said: “We’re fighting for survival. I have lost all my passing trade in the business because people are scare of getting a parking ticket.
“We all need to stick together. This is our High Road, it’s our businesses. If we want to survive we have to fight.
“Every day that passes is another business going out of business.”
In a recent environment, planning and regeneration report, the council blames the recession for a drop in its parking revenue in the last year. The figures show the council wrongly estimated it would receive 61.6 per cent more income from parking than it actually did.
But traders remain adamant the shortfall would be reversed if parking meters were reinstalled.
Drivers can also purchase scratch cards to pay for parking, but traders say this scheme has not been publicised widely enough.
Ms Michael said: “People pull up and look bewildered and then drive away again.”
In a group vote, traders decided to lobby the council to bring back pay-by-coin meters and scrap scratch cards as well as introduce a half an hour free parking scheme and a cap on parking charges.
The meeting was also attended by a couple of shop owners from Mill Hill and Barnet who say their high streets are suffering from the same problem.
Councillor David Longstaff said he would take everyone’s comments back to the cabinet member for environment, Councillor Dean Cohen, and leader of the council, Councillor Richard Cornelius.
Comments(7)
barnet head
says...
8:42pm Tue 16 Oct 12
Buzzing Helen
says...
12:01am Thu 18 Oct 12
Yet these businesses are are seeing a drastic downturn that corresponds with the introduction of this idiotic user unfriendly and expensive parking policy. What planet do you live on James smyth, if that is really your name.
Take a look at the car parks on Sunday as opposed to Saturday .
Thanks to Dean Cohen and Richard Cornelius for making things much easier for the traders in the worst economic climate ever. Obviously Mary Portas, Eric Pickles and all the other high street retail experts' are wrong when they say that the key to revitalising the high street is parking. Maybe we should employ barnet head and James smith to join barnet council, if they are not of course already employed by them.
Mike NW7
says...
2:20pm Mon 22 Oct 12
james smyth
says...
4:37pm Wed 24 Oct 12
You have made a very good point in that the drastic downturn "corresponds" with the introduction of the scheme.
The scheme was brought in at a time when the high street was in decline, Woolworths,MFI, etc all went under prior to the scheme coming in so it would indicate that this scheme IS not the real reason that traders profits are down.
People do not have the disposable income to spend anymore,every penny counts,therefore they will think twice about a purchase. It is a global recession. The parking IS not the reason that your tills are not bulging with cash.
If on sundays and bank holidays there was mass congestion in Barnet due to everyone flocking out in their thousands to go shopping because they will save the princely sum of £1 per half hour parking fees,then I would see your point. As for all these people who claim that shoppers are going elsewhere where parking is free,then they are spending more in petrol to go to Brent X etc than the actual parking fee!!! Plus there is not the selection of shops in Brent X that there is in Barnets High streets! And I cannot see these peopl driving all the way there to grab a loaf and a pint of milk or to get a cup of coffee,what utter nonsense!
The parking scheme to use is simple,30 seconds max once you have registered,the parking cards are easy too,just buy some and keep in the car.
Its as hard as you make it.
No doubt as a trader your comodities have increased in cost? Have you raised a campaign against that as you have this?
I very much doubt it !
james smyth
says...
4:47pm Wed 24 Oct 12
In Bath the council generated about £120k a year in PCNs against people driving in a buses only lane. Ater 7 years of this they thought that maybe the signage was not clear enough,so they improved it.
The result, they generate about £1000 a year now.
There are crisis meetings in the council about this lost income.
They believed at first that it was all due to the improved signage but after a traffic survey they actually realised that LESS people were driving into the city and so were not going into the bus lane.(obviously the signs did help) They then soon realised that the parking income from all the car parks was down big time. The charges too were recently increased ,however the survey proved that it was NOT the increased charges that was stopping people but the global recession as a whole making people think before jumping into their cars and going shopping.
The survey noticed increased use of public transport and cycles,even peoples legs were being used to get around.
The flip side to all this is that pollution is down,so a bonus for the enviroment!!
Every cloud has a silver lining!!
james smyth
says...
4:52pm Wed 24 Oct 12
Your only dislike to me is that I am not afraid to speak my own opinions
I will speak as I find and what I believe in.
If you have a problem with that then you are extremely narrow minded and as this is THE UNITED KINGDOM where free speech is allowed then I suggest you up sticks and go to a country where you are not allowed a say.
james smyth says...
12:46pm Tue 16 Oct 12
Big High Street chains are going under,some of them had stores in the area before the new scheme came into effect ......and they still went under.
Its easy to blame the council for your downturn cos its an easy option instead of looking closer to home however YOU all need to realise that maybe your prices are just not that competitive anymore or that your so sour faced when anyone comes into your shop it puts them off coming back!
Your all bleating how deserted your shops are but then explain why all the parking bays are full up if by your say the cost of parking is putting people off?