‘Outrageous and short-sighted’: Petition for council to abolish plans to increase town centre parking charges

A petition has been set up by a business director, in a bid for the council to “abolish the outrageous and short-sighted” plans to scrap free weekend parking in Northampton town centre and increase all charges.

Wesley Suter, who has been the director at Steffans Jewellers for 20 years, believes the proposed increases will be detrimental for businesses in the town centre and action is needed imminently before it is too late.

As a result, he has set up an online petition in connection with this newspaper’s campaign, which was launched yesterday (January 19), and you can find the link to sign it at the end of this story.

West Northamptonshire Council plans to scrap free parking on Saturdays and Sundays for shoppers in a bid to plug a £60 million shortfall in funding.

This would also see midweek prices increase by 10 percent, implemented from April this year.

The report says the plans could raise an extra £1 million in revenue and the rise in parking charges was meant to be discussed on its own, but was bundled up in the 121-page draft budget and medium financial plan – as reported by Chronicle & Echo in December 2022.

Wesley said: “Northampton is now a one stop shopping destination, so why would people want to pay more to park their car?

“This council doesn’t understand who they are competing against. Amazon offers free delivery and other nearby shopping outlets and centres – including Rushden, Bicester and Milton Keynes – have better variety and cheaper or free parking.

“How can they justify this decision at this time?”

Currently, shoppers can park free for up to two hours on Saturdays, and those staying longer or parking in midweek pay the equivalent of £1 an hour.

A new pricing scheme would see all drivers pay £1.10, up to a maximum of £5.50 for five hours, and Sunday free parking will be replaced by a flat £2.20 all-day fee.

The business director believes West Northamptonshire Council is not considering retailers in this decision, and the key to drawing people back into the town centre is by encouraging them to use what is left – not scaring them away with price increases.

“Everyone needs to be able to access what is on offer with ease,” said Wesley. “The council needs to apply for financial relief from central government if they are struggling.

“I understand they are finding things as tough as we all are and something has to be done, but that doesn’t mean increasing parking charges is the answer.

“If this goes ahead, there will be no businesses left to pay the council’s rates.”

Wesley admits that his customers at Steffans are “affluent” and will not be impacted by the price hikes, but he says it is about the “principle that everyone should be welcomed to the town centre”.

He added: “The town will cease to exist if we continue to lose good businesses by the week, like we are at the moment.

“Free parking might not have saved the businesses we have lost, but it certainly would have encouraged more people to visit the town centre.”

The jewellery business director emphasised that even if the council cannot offer free town centre parking all the time, up to three hours free would enable people to utilise what is on offer – allowing them to visit the shops and businesses they like, and have something to eat and drink.

Wesley says Altrincham, a town in Greater Manchester, introduced free parking and saw a 15 percent increase in footfall – which could be a reality for Northampton.

However, according to council leader Jonathan Nunn, the car park price proposal will help “protect frontline services”.

Talking about the planned increases at the end of last year, cabinet member for finance Councillor Malcolm Longley said: “Like all councils nationally, we are facing serious financial pressures and must do everything possible to address these whilst continuing to meet our duties to protect and deliver vital services to our residents.

“We have worked hard to shape a credible, balanced budget, but doing so has meant making some really tough choices on how we can save more money and raise extra income.”

This year’s budget is currently heading for a £3.7 million overspend, after gobbling up a £10.1 million contingency.

The budget report said: “The council, along with all other local authorities up and down the country, is experiencing increasing cost and demand pressures driven by external factors beyond its control.”

These included Russia’s invasion on Ukraine and the ongoing financial impact of Coronavirus.

The proposal to increase town centre parking charges was revealed just days before this newspaper reported the confirmation from West Northamptonshire Council that the 50-year-old Mayorhold car park could be bulldozed.

West Northamptonshire’s draft budget said the multi-storey is “significantly under-utilised” and maintaining it is becoming such an issue that closing it could lead to “reduced costs and greater efficiency of the council’s resources”.

This begs the question – if a car park of that size is already underused, how would increasing car parking charges encourage more people to park there and visit the town centre?

The draft budget estimated a £1.6 million shortfall in income from car parking in 2023 with spare capacity around the town – including Mayorhold, as usage of the 1,000-space car park has not returned to pre-Covid levels.

The final decision on what will be done about town centre car parking will be made on February 22.

Until that point, this newspaper will be sharing the views of town centre businesses on the matter as part of our campaign.

To stop the council from scrapping free weekend town centre parking and hiking prices, you can visit and sign Wesley’s online petition here.