Park the Charges: Former Northampton town centre worker of 30 years calls council ‘deluded’

A former town centre worker of 30 years has called West Northamptonshire Council “deluded” in the latest instalment of the Chronicle & Echo’s Park the Charges campaign.

Our 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 lights switch that will kick everything off on November 21, but parking charges will undoubtedly put people off.

When we approached WNC last Tuesday (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 issued the following statement.

“We already confirmed to the Chronicle & Echo earlier this week before they launched a campaign that there are no plans to introduce free parking during the Christmas period,” said the spokesman.

“Scrapping parking charges in the run-up to Christmas is not a sustainable solution and evidence suggests that a vibrant town centre offer, good accessibility and a positive visitor experience are stronger drivers of footfall than free parking.

“That’s why our focus is working with partners on events, attractions and initiatives such as WinterFest and Small Business Saturday, to encourage people to visit and spend time in Northampton.

“Whilst car parking charges have increased we have seen no drop off in the use of those car parks or on-street parking, demonstrating that increases in car parking fees do not lead directly to fewer visitors to the town centre.

“However we recognise that parking charges continue to be a concern for some traders and we will continue to listen to their feedback on this and other town centre issues at the regular meetings we are holding with them and BID partners.”

Following the publication of the above, a reader got in touch with this comment: “If the council believes that Northampton has the three main drivers of attraction then they are deluded. Personally, having worked in the town centre for 30 years when it was a place to visit, it no longer is. In fact, the place is awful.”

The reader admitted that they have not visited the town centre for more than six months and praised Montague Jeffery, Dychurch Lifestyle and Michael Jones Jeweller as the best of what is available.

This comment is an interesting one to draw upon as time and time again we hear people referring back to the heyday of Northampton town centre, when empty shopfronts were a rarity and the Market Square was bustling with eager shoppers.

Although we do not endorse readers not visiting for six months at a time – as there are plenty of passionate business owners working hard to make the town centre a better place beyond the three mentioned above – it is evident that the community needs more to entice them in.

And we believe that parking is the answer. Free parking will encourage people, particularly those who have put off visiting the town centre for a prolonged period, to take a chance and give it a try.

They are likely to see there is more on offer than they imagined, but the key part is getting them there in the first place, and a reasonable and fair parking offering is the answer in our view.

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].