At long last, someone is trying to halt the demise of Northampton’s town centre.
Council leader David Mackintosh has announced there will be a trial period of free weekend parking at St John’s, St Michael’s and the Mayorhold car parks at weekends in August.
Elsewhere he is offering the first two hours of the day free. And about time too!
For 25 years I have run a town centre business. In 2001, we received a body blow, courtesy of Councillor Terry Wire.
Amid a great fanfare, he announced the arrival of the Topps Scheme. Parking fees went up and dozens of traffic wardens flooded the town.
Overnight I lost 20 per cent of my business because the half hour and one-hour limited just didn’t allow people enough time to come in. Other firms were hit too, such as that fine old firm, Church’s China, which was forced to close the shop and switch to an internet operation.
Meanwhile, businesses were encouraged to move to out-of-town parks, like Riverside, where they were given free parking.
I wrote to the council begging for free two hour parking but my pleas fell on deaf ears and over the last 13 years I have seen Northampton turn from a vibrant town centre with loads of smart little businesses into a scruffy place.
Closing down sales seem to appear every week, vandals spray paint over empty premises and the only new businesses appear to be bookies or pound and charity shops. The disastrous Topps scheme may have brought in some short-term cash for the council coffers, but everyone else’s coffers were emptying fast. Thankfully the number of wardens does seem to have dropped recently.
But we have only survived because we’ve all had to, by working longer hours and constantly coming up with new ideas to encourage people in. And offering good old fashioned service.
Thank God David Mackintosh has seen the light and at long last is giving us a fighting chance. Of course he could go further.
Make Derngate, Hazelwood Road, Castilian Street, Guildhall Road and St Giles Street and Terrace two-hour parking zones. Then reduce the price of on-street parking.
And don’t pour more good money after bad by replacing the fountain in Market Square, it just attracts yobs and drunks. Finally, get rid of pedestrianised zones and let the town’s shops spring into life again.
If you agree with me, email pandbox@aol.com