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Increased parking fees have not stopped people from going to the shops in Wokingham town centre, councillor has claimed.
Some shopkeepers and opposition councillors have suggested that Wokingham Borough Council’s decision to increase its car park charges in July has resulted in fewer customers coming through their doors.
Conservative councillor Alison Swaddle said some shops have come “close to shutting” as a result.
She said: “Local business owners already fear for the future as customers choose to go elsewhere to avoid paying the highly increased car park charges in our towns.
“Several are close to shutting and some already have citing lack of footfall brought about by the large parking charge increases as a major contributor to their demise.”
Liberal Democrat councillor Paul Fishwick, responsible for roads and travel, said car park ticket sales figures don’t back that up.
Data showing the number of daytime parking ticket sales that included no ticket sales on Sundays and including free vends from the Carnival Leisure Hub before the new parking charges and times were implemented stood at 33,380 in July 2022 and 42,598 in August 2022.
In comparison, the number of daytime parking ticket sales excluding ticket sales on Sundays but including free vends from the Carnival Leisure Hub after the new regime was introduced was 51,994 in July 2023 and 50.384 in August 2023.
A spokesperson for Wokingham Borough Council said that initial figures are comparable because they only include daytimes and exclude Sundays – so are like-for-like.
“The only thing that distorts this slightly is that Wokingham Leisure Centre / Carnival Hub did not open until late in July 2022 – so the July 2022 figures will be lower.”
Cllr Fishwick said shops across the country were struggling because of the cost of living crisis – but that car park fee increases in Wokingham don’t seem to have been a factor.
He said: “In times such as these it is sad but not surprising that some shops are struggling across the country. However here in Wokingham Borough our initial findings suggest they are not struggling due to the car parking charge changes.
“The early data shows usage of our car parks has actually gone up since the charges increased. These preliminary figures show it is certainly premature to suggest footfall has been hit by parking charge changes.”
Councillor Swaddle asked if the council would consult residents before introducing any on-street parking costs.
Speculation that the council could introduce on-street parking meters arose after plans were reported to have appeared briefly on the council’s website.
Councillor Swaddle said: “We understand that Liberal Democrat councillors are well advanced in putting together proposals to implement on-street parking charges in Wokingham town centre, including identifying sites for the kerbside payment machines.
She asked for a full consultation with residents before any decisions are taken.
Councillor Fishwick insisted there were no “detailed plans” to introduce on-street parking charges “at the present time.”
He said the leaked web page was a “mock-up” that had been created as part of earlier work looking into the possibility of bringing in on-street parking charges.
He added that if council leaders did plan changes in the future, they would have a full public consultation before making a final decision.
