Parking restrictions "killing" trade in Leamington

Buy photos » Two-hour stays - the parking meters in place across town. (s)

DEBATE has re-surfaced over whether short-stay parking restrictions are “killing” trade in Leamington town centre.

The maximum two-hour parking stays in many town centre streets – priced at about £2 – have been criticised for leaving Leamington like a ghost town.

Town resident Bill Capehorn told the paper: “It used to be a case you couldn't find anywhere to park but now there is loads of choice.

“People want a day out shopping, not having to rush back to the car after two hours. There should be the option to pay for a full day.

“We live in Leamington but now go to Banbury or Stratford to shop as the parking situation is far better. It is such a shame as Leamington is a beautiful town with plenty of shops but it is just being killed at the moment and is like a ghost town.”

On Facebook many of our readers agreed.

One called shopping in Leamington “hell on earth” due to parking charges and restrictions.

Another said: “Paid on-street parking is the death of town shopping. Its means no long shopping spells which is kind of shooting itself in the foot.”

A third wrote: “People are going elsewhere as fears of returning to their car two minutes late and getting a £35 fine is repelling them.”

But other locals felt the system worked as it freed up spaces previously taken up all day by office workers, while there were enough multi-storey parking spaces available to cope with demand.

One said on Facebook: “Parking in Leamington has improved 100 per cent. I remember the days when you could not park as people would leave their cars parked all day - now we all have a chance.”

Another person explained: “Now I don't mind popping in for an hour or two because I know I'm going to find a space.

“If it keeps the trade moving - which appears to be the case - it has to be good for the town.”

And Warwickshire County Council, which is responsible for civil parking enforcement in the town, insisted the system was effective.

Spokesman Graham Greenwood said: "The on-street parking spaces in Leamington are provided primarily for access, to enable disabled visitors to park nearer to their destination, drivers who need access to premises to collect large and heavy items, and those coming to the town for short stay visits.

“If these limited spaces allowed for all day parking we would significantly reduce the access available to these groups.

"There are a number of centrally located car parks, two multi-storey and a few surface car parks so shoppers and Leamington visitors who require a long stay option have some choice, and at a lower cost than on street."

This statement was issued jointly from Warwick District Council and Warwickshire County Council:

What WCC and WDC are aiming to achieve is to balance the parking needs of residents, businesses and visitors by having a range of enforcement measures and charges in place. This is an on-going process and we are constantly looking at the on and off-street car park data and feedback from the Chambers of Trade and the public to help us determine emerging trends and changes in parking patterns. This then influences changes to the parking regulations that are made.

Most town centres have experienced a reduction in car park usage in the last year as a result of the economic downturn, higher cost of fuel and increased use of bus passes.

In recent months usage in Leamington is in line with last year whilst there has been an increase in usage in Kenilworth on 2010 and a reduction in Warwick which we believe is a direct result of the transfer of the Crown Court to Leamington.

Parking needs to be looked at in the round rather than just the on-street or the off-street parking provision. Some on-street regulations are in place to help protect local residents whilst others are there to provide the short stay parking requirement for those who just need to pop into town. Leamington is also blessed with significant amounts of free on street parking in easy walk of the town centre.

The on-street restrictions which apply in Leamington are mirrored in Stratford where on-street charges are set higher than the off-street charge to try and encourage people into the off-street car parks.

The provision of on-street parking is just one of the parking offers available in Leamington but we also provide over 400 off-street spaces where charges are geared to shoppers. There are over 900 parking spaces in multi-storey car parks where charges are geared to those making longer shopping trips to the town and those who require all day parking.

For those looking to spend longer than 2 hours we offer Pay on Exit in the two main car parks in Leamington. This customer friendly parking system, which removes the concern about “having to get back to my vehicle or I might have a fine” has operated for several years and we are working with businesses to promote this form of parking.

Together with the introduction of “parent and child” spaces at Covent Garden multi-storey car park we are aiming to improve further the customer offer and we are looking at other improvements we can introduce for later this year.

Discussions are planned over the next month between the Chamber’s of Trade and the District and County Councils to look at the current on and off-street parking arrangements. A number of ideas are being discussed, aimed at encouraging visitors to increase their dwell time in the town centre which is of benefit to both traders and the council.

Parking does not feature in the action plan for the Leamington BID. Given the current interest, the Chamber of Trade is taking regarding parking provision it will be interesting to see if this becomes an issue which the BID takes on board.

We believe overall we have a parking offer for everyone and constantly monitor what goes on and make changes to that offer if the need arises.