THE PROGRAMME 08:30 Registration and Exhibition Opens
09:30 Conference Opens Welcome and opening address from BPA President Anjna Patel
09:35 Keynote Speech Speaker TBC
09:50 Setting the scene for the day
Town Centres Overview Hilary Paxman, Local Growth and Regeneration Strategy, Department for Communities and Local Government
Why properly managed parking is vital for our town centres Katy Spain – Ceredigion County Borough Council
Today’s conference Patrick Troy, CEO, BPA
10:30 Master Classes Session 1
Class 1a - The parking charges debate Charging strategies
John Siraut – Sinclair Knight Merz
This session will explore the rationale behind parking charges, why charge, how much should we charge, what impact does charging have on retail spend and the success of our town centres, what happens when you change parking charges, how much are people prepared to pay to park? Every town centre is different but there is often a tension between parking and town centre managers over parking strategies that need to be addressed to create a successful town centre while still generating much needed revenue for town halls.
Case Study – Making Parking Free Clare Turner – Blackburn Borough Council
Blackburn with Darwen Borough Council has recently implemented a 9 month trial for free parking in all its car parks on Saturday in Blackburn Town Centre to great acclaim by government ministers. This is topical at a time when the government has recently responded to Mary Portas on her recommendations as to how they and councils can support the High Street with parking highlighted as a key issue.
Research carried out across town centre retailers in Blackburn overwhelmingly highlighted the cost of parking as the top concern for businesses. The council’ s Town Centres First planning policy has resulted in successfully challenging further out of town and large scale competitive retail development in the surrounding area. However, in this challenging and sustained period of economic difficulty, their focus has also turned towards supporting existing businesses in the centre and encouraging new investment. This session will explore how parking policy can be an important tool in delivering the wider objective of helping our high streets become more sustainable, particularly outside the larger cities.
Class 1b - Accessible Towns Making town centres accessible for all
Travel Planning - ACT Travelwise, invited Special considerations for Historic places - Ian Poole, Historic Towns Forum executive Disability access - Speakers TBC
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