14
PARKING: PRICING
On the
MONEY
Car park operators are going to great lengths to entice cash-strapped shoppers by
drastically slashing rates. But are low prices sustainable?
P
arking charges are often a sensitive issue. While customers free parking on Sundays, Rotherham Borough Council and Barnsley &
want prices to stay low, shopping centres and councils rely Rotherham Chamber of Commerce aimed to encourage shoppers into
on this additional income to boost revenue. But despite the town centre during their free time.
the lingering effects of recession, car park operators are doing Andrew Denniff, policy and communications manager for the
the unthinkable: slashing parking charges, and in some cases chamber, emphasized the need to help local retailers through the
scrapping them completely. downturn. “This is not an easy time to do business but both the council
In recent months, councils and centre managers have been and the chamber are committed to doing what we can to support the
cutting parking rates even in the face of a dwindling retail market. town centre and encourage shoppers into Rotherham,” he says.
Rotherham town centre introduced its ‘Free After 3’ scheme in May, In the three months since the scheme launched, Rotherham has
allowing shoppers to park for free in all council-run car parks after seen a consistent rise in footfall post 3pm. And positive feedback from
3pm. And St David’s Partnership, the joint venture behind St David’s retailers supports the idea that parking pricing strategies, if planned
in Cardiff, has announced competitive rates across both its car parks correctly, can help fight the downturn by bringing more people into
with an evening charge of £1 after 5pm. shops and centres.
Slashing prices might seem risky at a time like this, but Children’s clothing retailer Adams has a store in Rotherham town
Rotherham’s town centre manager Julie Roberts assures that long- centre. Linda Bough, store manager, says: “We’ve been pleased to see
term benefits can be had from meeting shoppers in the middle. a boost in footfall and our figures in the last few weeks. Some of our
“Parking charges have always been an emotive issue and therefore we shoppers are changing their habits and coming in after 3pm due to
felt it was important to look at this and see what steps we could take the initiative, however we have also seen some new customers and a
to reduce the cost for visitors,” she says. rise in the value of the individual transactions made.”
The ‘Free After 3’ campaign targets late afternoon visitors: friends The team behind St David’s 2 has also picked up on the
meeting up after work and families coming into town for an after- widespread benefits of cheaper parking. Neil Carron, project director
school shopping trip. By waiving afternoon charges, as well as offering at St David’s Partnership, explains why these rates were chosen. “Our
SHOPPING CENTRE SEPTEMBER 2009 www.shopping-centre.co.uk
SCP14-15-SCPricing.indd 14 23/9/09 19:28:58
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