Federation of Small Businesses calls on London councils and TfL to offer free festive parking
Business lobby group the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) is calling on London councils and Transport for London to offer free parking for Christmas shoppers over the festive period.
With Small Business Saturday on 5 December, the FSB hopes that the organisations will nix the car parking charges. Half of the FSB’s members said that the high price to pay for a place to park impacts on how many customers they get.
The price of parking in town centres often drives shoppers to out-of-town retail parks and larger shopping malls.
“The lack of affordable parking is detrimental to local trade, and the message to London’s councils is therefore to consider carefully the impact of the availability and cost of parking on local trade, especially on Small Business Saturday,” said Steve Warwick, London regional chair of the FSB.
So far, only Merton Council has responded to the request by announcing free car parks in Mitcham, Morden and Wimbledon during weekends in late November and December.
Last year, the FSB reported that 15 of London’s 33 boroughs had free festive parking.
However, parking comes at a premium in London. Between 2013 and 2014, about five million parking tickets were issued across all boroughs, according to information from London Councils.
A spokesperson for London Councils said: “Boroughs use their charging policies to ensure maximum availability of spaces… and to ensure a reasonable turnover of spaces to make it easier for drivers to find a place to park.”