Trade slams parking fee plans for West End
Alex Salussolia, managing director of Glendola Leisure, believes the new fees proposed by Westminster Council could have a damaging impact on the city’s night-time economy.
“It affects night time workers who need to travel into town by vehicles, and it affects the ability to bring people into the West End at night-time and on Sunday,” said Salussolia. “It is pretty grim news all round really.”
A study by the Centre for Economics and Business Research (CEBR) showed that Westminster Council’s proposals to start charging fees to park in the evening could costs businesses in the area over £800m and threaten thousands of jobs.
According to the report, the move, which would make drivers have to pay to park on single yellow lines from 6.30pm, would lead to hotels, restaurants, pubs and theatres in the area lose £714m in profits and cost them around £125m a year in extra travel costs for employees.
The CEBR also said that this would lead to businesses having to cut over 5,000 jobs to compensate for the lost trade.
The new charges, which take effect from the 9 January, will operate until midnight Monday to Saturday, and 1pm to 6pm on Sundays.
Colin Barrow, the leader of Westminster Council, said the move is necessary to ease stifling congestion in one of the busiest parts of Britain’s capital, adding that the move should raise about £7m a year from drivers.
West End businesses, residents and churches have come together to establish a campaign website, www.westending.org, to encourage opponents of the new parking charges to sign the online petition, write to their MP and local Councillors.
Leisure sector property advisors Davis Coffer Lyons have emailed pubs urging them to sign the petition and has also wrote an open letter to Westminster Council.
Chairman David Coffer said: “This is a time when the West End and local businesses need as much support as possible because trade and the economy is very tough, especially for the pub sector.
“We should be helping them as much as we can against the other costs they face such as VAT, and this is basically just another tax that will dissaude people coming into town.”
