Harpenden: High street retailers attack parking charge plans

St Albans City and District Council (SADC) came under fire last week (July 18) as it launched a consultation over introducing fees to park on the high street.

If approved, only the first 20 minutes of parking would be free, with fees applying thereafter.

Drivers would be expected to pay £2.50 for an hour of parking and £5 for two hours.

The plans have been met with a strong response, with more than 5,000 residents have signed a petition opposing the charges.

Barrie Woolston, owner of Molasses House Art Gallery at 3 Station Road, started the petition.

Molasses House Art Gallery. (Image: Google Street View)

He said: "Nobody is able to answer the question of why it is necessary. SADC say that parking makes a loss but cannot prove this. The accounts are impenetrable."

One of the arguments made to support the scheme is that it will provide a much-needed boost to council coffers. Some have suggested that the money from parking charges is needed to fill a hole in council budgets.

Barrie laments the lack of enforcement of current parking bay regulations, describing this as a "missed opportunity" for bringing in revenue.

He says that "of course" the plans would have a detrimental effect on the High Street, claiming that "people simply won't come anymore."

The art gallery owner cites the case study of an elderly Harpenden resident who would be negatively impacted.

He said: "There is an 80-year-old in Harpenden who drives in to meet his friends and that's his day out. If he has to pay he will have to stay at home and we all know what will happen then."

Barrie claims that residents have been run "roughshod" by the council and is of the opinion that SADC intend to ram the proposals through, irrespective of public opinion.

He believes the impact on his business will be that his artists, many of which he describes as "impoverished", will have to pay these charges when they come to drop off their work at the gallery.

He also warns that businesses will close, pointing to the number of staff who commute into Harpenden, saying: "If shops do not have staff, they will close."

Barrie is supportive of the resolution agreed at a high stakes Harpenden Town Council meeting earlier this week (July 22) which would see a working group set up with members of both councils, as well as a pause to the implementation of changes until at least March 2025.

Fiona Thomas, owner of Oui, a clothing shop at 14 Bowers Parade, was among the business owners who spoke at Monday's highly charged meeting.

Oui in Harpenden (Image: Google Street View) The 51-year-old is ready to "fight" against the charges, which she's opposed to both on principle and because of feedback from customers.

She says: "Our customers are telling us that they're completely against the charges and would come into the shop less if they were introduced."

Like Barrie, she fears the charges would lead to closures on the high street.

She admits that her turnover would decrease, but that she's also worried about the impact it would have on the community that exists on Harpenden's High Street.

She explains: "People come in , they have a chat and a cup of tea with us. We want to look after the welfare of our community.

"Some of our elderly customers don't have any friends or relatives so we might be the only people they see in a day. They rely on us to make their day a little bit brighter."

Unlike some at the meeting, Fiona is opposed to a mooted compromise that would see some parking bays remain free, while charges are introduced elsewhere. 

She argues that the introduction of any paid for parking on the High Street marks the beginning of a "slippery slope."

SADC have declined to formally comment while the consultation is ongoing, encouraging residents to have their say and referring them to the statement they made last week.

In that statement, SADC's Parking Lead Cllr Helen Campbell said: "I ask people to look at the proposals in detail and not rely on any rumours they may have heard.

 "I believe the changes will benefit the community as a whole by promoting active travel and discouraging people from parking on the street longer than they need."

The consultation runs until August 14.