‘Unnecessary’ parking increases will see customers order online elsewhere, says Northampton restaurant owner

The owner of a town centre restaurant believes West Northamptonshire Council’s plans to increase parking charges will see more people stay at home and order online from elsewhere.

Mehmet Yetkin, the owner of Wedgwood and Alberto’s in Abington Street, is already in a battle with online food delivery companies as he pays them around 30 percent on each order.

If the car parking proposals go ahead, he thinks customers are more likely to pay the delivery fees online than the higher parking charges to visit a town centre restaurant.

Mehmet said: “It’s unnecessary and when there are other places nearby that charge so little – particularly Rushden Lakes – this creates a massive difficulty in keeping old customers and attracting new ones.

“£3 a time may not seem a lot, but it adds up. Especially when you eat out and stay for at least a couple of hours to socialise, it's guaranteed to be more – and that’s on top of the £10 main course.”

Mehmet admits if he was a customer and saw the price of parking in Northampton, he would “change his mind and go elsewhere”.

“The proposals will kill my lunchtime deals and specials,” said the business owner. “We all need support from our local authority, not another struggle to contend with.”

When Mehmet looked back on when he took over the business, he described his area of Abington Street as “dark and run down”.

Now, there is more footfall but the business would benefit from additional parking spaces outside, on top of the existing disabled bays.

Mehmet would love to see Abington Street “brought back to life as the town’s high street”, but fears this will not be possible until all of the planned town centre works are complete – which is still a number of years away.

Though he is pleased businesses are getting behind Wesley Suter’s petition, Mehmet believes communication between them all needs to improve if they are to act together.

The business owner would like to see everyone regularly gathered to make decisions as one.

Mehmet is also disappointed to no longer receive communications from the council, inviting him as a business owner to voice his opinion, as he once was.

To sign the petition before it is too late, click here – and you can share your views directly to the council using this survey before the end of the public consultation on January 31.