Shrewsbury residents have been left reeling by a hike in parking charges of up to 33 per cent – and traders fear the move is driving away shoppers.
A church leader claims the recent steep rise in the cost of parking amounts to ‘persecution’ of her congregation.
Since the new tariff was introduced at some Shropshire Council owned car parks almost three weeks ago, traders claim it has damaged an already fragile economy – with Sunday trade being hit the hardest.
Charges at two of the town’s biggest car parks have risen by 14 and 33 per cent from April 1.
The main Frankwell car park has seen its all-day parking charge rise from £3.50 to £4 and St Julian’s Friars has seen a hike from £3 to £4.
Residents claim the tariffs are keeping people away. Shopper Cath Waring said: “I drove into town to do some shopping in Shrewsbury on Sunday. The free on-street parking was full, so I went into the Raven Meadows Car Park.
“It was surprisingly empty for 11am. I soon realised that was because of the punitive parking prices - £1.50 for up to an hour then an astonishing £3.50 for one to three hours in the town’s main shoppers’ car park, then £6 if you dared to stay for three-plus hours.”
And Adam Green, owner of Fabricius Green Fine Jewels, in High Street, said: “We have had moments where we have been trying to get a sale for hundreds of pounds and then the sale has been abandoned because the customer has got to get back to their car. It’s very frustrating.”
Chairman of Shop in the Loop, John Hall, said: “In general terms footfall is very low and I was in town the Sunday before last working in the shop and town was extremely quiet.
“The parking situation causes problems for people coming in to shop and for staff coming in to work as they have to pay an awful lot of money to park all day. That’s why we’re so keen on a ‘pay on exit’ system which has not got quite the same pressure on people to get out of town at a particular time.”
Meanwhile, churchgoers at the Unitarian Church on High Street are struggling to attend Sunday service.
Joan Hughes, congregation chairman, labelled the situation as diabolical, with members having to ‘fight’ shoppers and workmen for free parking space on loading bays close to the church.She claimed parking charges for nearby short stay and long stay car parks were considered too high.
“We feel in a way it is religious persecution as we can’t pursue our faith without paying a cost for it,” said Joan.
“We shall certainly see the congregation diminish, the parking situation is just ruining any church community spirit.”
Martin Taylor-Smith, Shropshire Council’s cabinet member for transport and IT, said: “In Shrewsbury some charges remain the same, and where increased the majority of these (excluding season tickets) are by 10p or 20p.
“We have also reduced the prices of some season tickets, are providing free parking for coaches per 24 hours at Frankwell and have reduced the hours of charging in Shrewsbury’s car parks from 8pm to 6pm to boost the town’s night time economy.”
by Charlotte Hester