Park the Charges: BID ‘supportive’ of any measures to make town centre ‘more attractive and accessible’

The Northampton Town Centre BID has expressed it is “supportive” of any measures to make the area “more attractive and accessible over the Christmas period”.

Launched last Thursday (November 5), the Chronicle & Echo’s Park the Charges campaign is calling for free parking at all council-owned multi-storey and surface car parks, as well as the premium on-street parking, on Saturdays and Sundays from November 21 until December 20 – as well as Christmas Eve for last minute shoppers.

We believe this is key to the success of the town centre this festive period and the survival of the beloved businesses at the backbone of the Northampton community into 2027 and beyond.

The Market Square is set to be transformed into what the council hope will be a “magical festive destination” through WinterFest, and it is the Christmas light switch that will kick everything off on November 21, but parking charges will undoubtedly put people off.

When we first approached WNC on November 3, the authority told us it did not currently have any plans to offer free parking during the Christmas period – hence the launch of this campaign.

The council was approached a second time last week following the publication of the launch of Park the Charges, and a WNC spokesman described scrapping parking charges in the run-up to Christmas as “not a sustainable solution”. You can read WNC’s full response here.

The Northampton Town Centre Business Improvement District (BID), a business-led partnership and non-profit organisation created to make the town centre a more vibrant, welcoming and prosperous place, is the latest to issue their response to the campaign.

Chief operating officer Mark Mullen said: “The BID would be supportive of any measures that help make visiting Northampton town centre more attractive and accessible over the Christmas period.

“The festive season is one of the most important trading periods of the year for our retailers, hospitality businesses and independent traders, and we want to do everything possible to encourage people to visit our town centre and support local businesses.

“We remain in regular dialogue with WNC over parking in our town centre, ensuring the views of businesses are heard and considered.”

BID continues to back positive changes to town centre car parking, including a petition at the start of this year in a last minute attempt to scrap hikes before proposals were approved by full council in February.

Plans to get rid of two hours free at weekends in town centre car parks owned by WNC were kept in the final budget proposals for 2026/27, despite a late u-turn on new charges in market towns Daventry, Towcester and Brackley.

BID publicly backed the petition, which included the opposition of the introduction of a flat £3 charge on weekends and Bank Holidays, expressing it would be “detrimental to the economic health of businesses and our town centre in general”.

Despite town centre traders coming together to make their feelings known, with the support of Northampton Town Centre BID, these increases went ahead as part of WNC’s 2026/27 budget.

If you would like to be part of the Chronicle & Echo’s campaign for free parking in Northampton town centre this Christmas, email [email protected].