Businesses angry at potential parking fee rises

Business owners in Ludlow have accused Shropshire Council of planning to raise parking charges in the town to fund transport services elsewhere.

They believe the proposed increaseswill help fund a Sunday park-and-ride service in Shrewsbury.

Roger Curry, who runs Bodenhams department store in Ludlow, said businesses such as his were being left "high and dry" and it was "a shocking reality that the council prefers Shrewsbury".

The Shropshire councillor responsible for transport, Rob Wilson, said the proposals were subject to public consultation and charges in some parts of Ludlow would either stay the same or fall. But he confirmed the extra money would be spent in Shrewsbury.

Curry's family has run a clothing business in Ludlow for five generations, dating back to 1860.

He said he felt like the council "looked down" on Ludlow and was taking advantage of the town's historic wealth.

"[It would] rub salt into the wounds in a very difficult trading environment that we are presently going through right now," Curry added.

"I am paying £25,000 in business rates - the same that Shrewsbury pay - yet we have not got the infrastructure to support our businesses.

"It is absolutely shocking the way the council have always looked down on us here in Ludlow."

Shropshire Council's cabinet is due to discuss the proposed changes on Wednesday and it could mean the introduction of Sunday park-and-ridebuses in Shrewsbury.

Park-and-ride gives people the option of parking at car parks out of the town centre and then getting a bus in, rather than driving into the town centre.

In June, the council said it would close the Meole Brace park-and-ride service in Shrewsbury, but last month it announced a change of heart.

The council's deputy leader Alex Wagner said up to £500,000 of increased parking charge revenue would be used to keep the service going while a long-term solution to the town's park and ride provisions could be found.

But there has been no reprieve for Ludlow's park-and-ride, which the council also plans to withdraw.

Parking prices in Shropshire are organised into seven cost-bands.

Under the proposals some are due to increase in cost and others are due to decrease.

Additionally, some car parks will switch to different bands.

Under the proposals, the cost of parking at Ludlow's Castle Street Car Park would go up from £2.80 an hour to £3.80 an hour from Monday to Saturday and from 70p to £1 an hour on Sundays and bank holidays.

At the same time, on-street parking in Ludlow would become more expensive in some areas and less expensive in others.

The cost of parking is also set to rise at some car parks in Shrewsbury and Ellesmere, but in Much Wenlock and Bridgnorth, prices would go down.

Jodie Deakin, who runs Eclectica and is part of the Ludlow Chamber of Commerce, said she appreciated the authority had struggled financially, but believed things were needed to "encourage people into market towns".

"I think in terms of the locals, it seems like a heck of a price jump," she said.

"For the locals that want to pop in and shop and support independent shops like my own, it does feel like another sort of needless tax."

However, Deakin said not everyone would complain.

She said her mother lived in Cheltenham, where people pay up to £6 an hour for parking, and added: "I think for visitors, it will not seem outrageous."

Conservative MP for South Shropshire Stuart Anderson said he was disappointed to hear about the potential parking charges increase.

"We must do all we can to support small businesses on our high street, and Ludlow business are rightly concerned to hear suggestions that the money from this increase will fund buses in Shrewsbury," Anderson said.

"I will continue to make the case to the council that we need to see limited free parking that encourages and [does] not deter shoppers to our local high streets."

Andy Boddington, an independent councillor for Ludlow, said he thought the proposed price changes would harm trade in the town.

"It increasingly makes Ludlow an expensive place to come to," he said.

Wilson said Shrewsbury would be the most affected town.

"It is looking at parking and traffic management in a more holistic way and we recognise that there need to be affordable parking options for people," he added.

"Generally in the market towns, prices are being held or even reduced.

"The income mostly is coming into Shrewsbury, so that is why that investment is going back into Shrewsbury to mitigate for those changes.

"We know particularly with Shrewsbury there is a congestion problem as well. So the more people we can get on to the park-and-ride, the better that is for congestion in the middle of Shrewsbury."

When asked if there were any other plans to spend the additional money outside Shrewsbury, Wilson said there was not and the council had to "be careful about only spending money that it has got".

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