CHIPPENHAM business owners on New Road fear that footfall in their shops could begin to drop if parking fines continue to be issued to motorists who leave their cars at the Hathaway Retail Park.

Several motorists and employees working in that area of town have been issued with a ticket in the past few weeks after leaving their vehicles at the car park and using the shops and services along New Road.

Despite reassurances from the Chippenham BID that the issue has been resolved, business owners are still concerned about the impact it could have on their shops.

Owner of Scoffs Café, Emma Morgan, said: “I have contacted the BID because we’re paying for this end of town.

“A lot of people got tickets and no one seems interested in doing anything about it but if you look around there’s nowhere to park.

“For the rest of the businesses down New Road it’s going to be a killer.”

Owner of Inspire Fitness, Ruth Green, said: “A lot of our clients are from outside Wiltshire and many are older ladies with health conditions who can’t park half a mile away.

“One of the questions we always get asked by new members is ‘where do we park?’.”

Peter Angell, from Angell’s Barbers, said: “I’ve resorted to walking half an hour every day to work, basically to avoid a ticket.”

At the moment signs in the Hathaway Retail car park, which is owned by Savills and managed by UKCPS, say that people can park for up to three hours for free but that they must remain ‘on site’.

Matthew Powell, interim BID manager, said: “We’ve spoken with Savills and they have said tickets should not be issued. Hopefully that problem will be solved.”

This week Savills, the managing agent at Hathaway Retail Park, said: "We have raised the issue of parking tickets with UKCPS, the car park operator. UKCPS has explained that the public are welcome to park and leave the site and the signage will be altered next week to reflect this. The three-hour restriction is the only restriction. Twelve people have been issued with tickets which UKCPS has assured us will all be cancelled."

That should be good news for Chippenham resident Gerry Elms, who received a parking ticket earlier this month and had his appeal turned down despite visiting the Homebase store on the retail park as well as Scoffs Café.

“I’ve lived here for 36 years and I have been parking in that Hathaway Retail Park ever since it was built,” said the 84-year-old.

“I really feel now there’s no way I am going to park in that area. No one goes up and reads the fine print.”