Parking: Town Centres

Lauren Sullivan Excerpts

Tuesday 14th January 2025 Westminster Hall

[Sonia Kumar]

An hour’s free parking is one of the proposals that I have put forward to the leader of my local council. If somebody wants to grab a coffee in the town centre, they do not want to pay a parking charge, then get their coffee and leave. That is only driving business out.

As I was saying, Bruno and a number of traders around the town centre told me that it is not just Dudley town centre that is being affected; the same thing is happening in many other town centres across the country. The additional problem with my town centre is disruption from the ongoing construction work around the main transport area, which is affecting the bus service and the tram line, so more people are being forced to use their cars.

[Dr Lauren Sullivan (Gravesham) (Lab)]

I thank my hon. Friend for securing this very important debate. Of course, parking is a problem that does not exist in isolation; as she just mentioned, it is linked to public transport. In many areas, including in my local area of Gravesham, there is a large rural network, but of course such networks are not served by buses, which is why people are forced into their cars. Does she agree that we need to work with our local authorities to improve rural infrastructure, thereby alleviating issues, including parking, in our town centres?

[Sonia Kumar]

I agree with my hon. Friend, because town centre accessibility is really quite difficult. We do not have a tram system or any local trains; we only have a bus service, which can be ad hoc at times. Consequently, I welcome the new consultation period that Richard Parker, our Labour mayor, has suggested.

This is not the time to increase parking charges, because, as has been said before, parking remains a critical lifeline for many high streets, especially for those customers on low incomes in Dudley and elsewhere. Rising parking charges are pushing customers away from Dudley town centre and into out-of-town retail parks such as Merry Hill, which have free parking, and encouraging them to shop online.

It is crucial that we consider the long-term impact of these charges for traders and local small and medium-sized enterprises; they are the backbone of the economy. On a recent walk around Dudley town centre, I counted up to 35 empty shops. A staggering amount of those shops struggled due to austerity measures, the pandemic and the cost of living crisis.