“Another nail in the coffin for the town centre” Proposed car parking charge hike stuns locals

RESIDENTS are up in arms about a proposed hike in parking charges in Wiltshire Council-owned car parks.  

Wiltshire Council has proposed increasing car parking charges by 10p per hour on every tariff in all its car parks; to introduce parking charges for Blue Badge holders; and introduce Sunday parking charges in all car parks. 

The parking charge changes have been proposed as part of Wiltshire Council’s 2022/23 budget, which was being discussed at a Wiltshire Council meeting this week, on Tuesday 15th February as Melksham News went to press.

In response to the proposals, locals have warned that shoppers will be discouraged from visiting the town, and have called for Wiltshire Council to do more to support and encourage growth in the town centre. 

“I guess they are really trying to drive people out of shopping in the town!” said one resident. “There’s no need for this price hike right now or adding the cost for Sunday parking. People are suffering enough with rising house bills and food costs. It’s about time the people who make these decisions try living off a minimum wage and be able to afford to live! Get real Wiltshire Council.” 

“The day the council introduced car parking charges we noticed an instant decline in footfall in the town centre,” said one former town centre business owner. “The supermarkets must look at the stupidity of councils with glee. Another nail in the coffin for Melksham town centre.” 

“I have a severe disability and my Blue Badge was to allow me to park closer to shops, the pharmacy etc,” said one Blue Badge holder. “I do not work and I will never be able to work again, so I’m on a limited budget, so paying to park will mean I will shop elsewhere. So, Melksham local businesses will all suffer yet again, as I’m not the only Blue Badge holder in Melksham.”

Another local added, “Everyone moans (including local councils) when shops, banks (i.e Lloyds) pull out of towns, but then they want to drive away footfall and force shoppers out of town.  

“They must make such a small amount of revenue out of parking and more often than not the machines are down, so once you take into consideration repairs, upkeep and man power, it’s just a false economy and a lazy way to make extra money rather than target projects that would generate sensible revenue that their customers (because that’s what the shoppers are) would appreciate.” 

“This place is already a ghost town and now you want to charge more for the privilege of not having any shops to go into?” added another local. “Open your eyes; they are all closing down. How about a one-hour free policy? I can walk down from where I live, but worry about those that can’t. You are just making people shop in other towns where parking is free or subsidised.”

The town council runs its own parking redemption scheme in the town centre’s car parks, allowing shoppers to claim back the cost of two hours’ parking at participating retailers in the town.

But it is unknown how the price hike will affect the town council’s scheme if it goes ahead. A town council spokesperson told Melksham News last month that councillors will discuss the scheme if Wiltshire Council confirms that the price increases are going ahead.  

In the meantime, the town council has shared a list of the 17 local businesses that are currently participating in their two-hour redemption scheme. 

The participating businesses are: D&M Gompels; Revive CBD; Feet First Foot Care Services; The Toy Shop; Holidays and Cruises; Wiltshire Framing; Cooperative Travel; Flower Care; Nixon and Shaw; Tops Hair Salon & Beauty; Andy York Photography; Melksham Kitchen and Appliance Centre; New Resource Recruitment; Total QSR Ltd; Flowers in Focus; Eagle IT Support; and Hale Veterinary Group. 

About how the scheme works, the town council explains, “The visitor buys a parking ticket in the normal way and automatically receives a duplicate ticket.  The customer leaves one ticket in the vehicle, takes the duplicate ticket to a participating town business where, on exchange of the ticket, a refund of up to 2 hours’ parking costs can be claimed.”