Parking charges are a farce, say retailers (From The Wiltshire Gazette and Herald)

Parking charges are a farce, say retailers

FURIOUS retailers in Malmesbury have criticised the district council's new car park charges.

The Old Station car park now costs £4 to use for the whole day and has been left deserted by motorists who have sought spaces elsewhere.

The town's short-stay car park in the centre of town remains at 50p an hour and people are choosing to either park there or leave their car on the side of the road for free, exacerbating problems for large vehicles and traffic generally.

The situation has led to some workers quitting their jobs and many shops seeing a decline in trade.

Amanda Foster, who runs Amanda's, a caf on Oxford Street, said: "It's affected us hugely. The problem is that, with our kind of business, people come into Malmesbury and if they have got half an hour they will meet up with someone for a coffee and if they have got a bit longer they will meet up for lunch, but they don't have that time anymore.

"I think it will do Malmesbury huge damage. If the charges were a little more realistic, like £1.50 for the day, then I think that would be acceptable."

Wiltshire county councillor John Thomson described the situation as a complete disaster and a money-making exercise.

"It's an absolute mess," he said. "There are people who are on £4.50 an hour wages, so for an hour in the morning they are working for nothing and some are giving up their jobs."

Chairman of the Malmesbury Chamber of Commerce, Alan Woodward, said: "They're giving season tickets out for £220 a year, which works out to less than a pound a day, so why haven't they just made it a pound a day for everyone else?

Leader of the district council, Carol O'Gorman said: "If people come up with clear, sound evidence about all of these problems then we would look at it again."