“Evidence suggests that a vibrant town centre offer, good accessibility and a positive visitor experience are stronger drivers of footfall than free parking”

West Northamptonshire Council has responded to the launch of the Chronicle & Echo’s Park the Charges campaign, stating that scrapping pre-Christmas parking charges is “not a sustainable solution”.

Launched on Thursday (November 5), 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 light switch that will kick everything off on November 21, but parking charges will undoubtedly put people off.

When we approached WNC on 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.

Our 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. | Iconic Media Group

placeholder image — Our 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. | Iconic Media Group

The council was approached a second time this 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 this response, WNC was asked to explain, clarify or provide the evidence which shows a vibrant town centre offer, good accessibility and a positive visitor experience are stronger drivers of footfall than free parking.

The local authority was also asked to provide evidence to support their point that the increase in car parking charges resulted in no drop off in the use of car parks or on-street parking, which they suggest has not led to fewer visitors to the town centre.

This newspaper was told that they have provided their response and have nothing further to add at this stage. We were told that if we wish for more detailed service information, we are welcome to submit a Freedom of Information request.

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].