A Parliamentary petition to grant 90 minutes of free parking across towns and cities in England has been launched.
Retail trade event, Spring & Autumn Fair, has launched the national campaign, which follows new research revealing retailers and consumers have independently identified the same practical measure to help encourage more visits to Britain’s high streets.
Launching under the banner Support Free Parking. Back Local Businesses. Bring People Back, the campaign centres around a Parliamentary petition urging local authorities to view parking as part of a wider strategy to increase footfall, support independent businesses and strengthen local economies.
The Fair’s annual research programme has drawn on the views of retailers and consumers across the UK, with its latest findings uncovering a striking consensus - 38% of independent retailers believe free parking would have the greatest positive impact on their business, while 63% of consumers say it would encourage them to visit town and city centres more often.
The research also highlights the opportunity facing Britain’s high streets. Almost all consumers (95%) say they would spend more if their local high street offered a better mix of shops, while 96% want to see more independent retailers alongside cafés, bakeries and other experiences that encourage them to spend longer in town centres.
Jackson Szabo, portfolio director, said: “Retailers aren’t asking for special treatment. They’re asking to remove one of the barriers that both businesses and shoppers believe is discouraging visits to our town centres.”
Practical tools
Rather than viewing parking solely as a transport issue or source of revenue, the new campaign encourages it to be considered as one of several practical tools available to support local economic growth.
Making town centres easier to access encourages people to spend more time on the high street. More time creates more opportunities to browse independent retailers, stop in cafés and bakeries, visit markets and support the wider mix of businesses that give every town centre its character.
Szabo added: “The best high streets are places where people don’t just buy one thing and leave. They browse independent shops, stop for lunch, meet friends for coffee and discover businesses they hadn’t planned to visit. That’s exactly the kind of local economy retailers tell us they want to build, and making town centres easier to access is one practical way of encouraging that behaviour.”
Alongside the petition, retailers across the country are being invited to join the campaign through a dedicated Retailer Toolkit, including window posters, QR-code till stickers, social media graphics and digital assets, enabling businesses to encourage customers to sign and share the petition.
Trade associations, suppliers, local business groups and industry organisations are also being encouraged to support the campaign and help build momentum.
Szabo concluded: “For years we’ve talked about saving the high street. Perhaps it’s time we started talking more about making it easier for people to use it. If retailers, shoppers, local authorities and industry partners all get behind practical changes like this, together we can help create town centres that people choose to visit again and again.”
To sign the petition, click here.
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