A leading York visitor attraction says the car parking hikes are ‘really hitting hard’.
Stuart Wood, general manager of York’s Chocolate Story, said that businesses like his were at the ‘rough end’ of the policy to increase the charges.
But City of York Council has responded by saying they would be ‘very surprised’ if the changes had put people off visiting the attraction in King’s Square.
In an interview with David Dunning for the Sunday Late Show on YorkMix Radio, Stuart Wood said York’s Chocolate Story, in Kings Square, was growing its business.
But the growth was being restricted due to the council’s decision to raise parking charges.
“When you look at when the car parking charge were introduced by the council, there’s a significant drop in in footfall to the city,” Stuart said.
“And those that are spending are spending well – but there’s less people out there spending unfortunately.
“It’s really hitting hard, and as time goes on, it looks like the gap gets bigger and bigger.
“When you look at the cost of going on an LNER train or a Grand Central train down to London for the day, and you compare it to the cost of parking your car in the city centre for a day, it just doesn’t work out somehow, because the costs are very, very similar.
“We’ve got competition from the likes of Harrogate. You’ve got Leeds around the corner, Manchester, Chester. We’ve got cities like that.
“They’re performing really, really well, and we’re always hampered with car parking charges. You get an hour’s charge here in York, and you can park for four hours in Harrogate for the same amount as what you pay for an hour in York.”
Stuart added: “Obviously, with the higher charges, the council’s going to look at the revenue and say, it’s great.
“But in the current economic climate, that revenue is going direct to the council, it’s not benefiting the businesses. We’re at the rough end where we’re not benefiting from any of it.”
‘There’s a cheaper alternative’
The council introduced higher parking charges as part of its strategy to tackle traffic congestion in York.
Cllr Kate Ravilious is executive member for transport at City of York Council.
She said: “Most people visiting York’s Chocolate Story, based on the time their tours take, will need at least three hours if they plan to do anything else in York.
“The cost to park for three hours is £1 more than it was last year. I’d be very surprised if an extra £1 for parking is putting visitors off visiting York’s Chocolate Story, when an entry ticket costs £70 for a family of four, or £56 if booked in advance.
“That same family of four would pay £7.80 to use one of the city’s excellent Park and Ride bus services, where children travel free with a paying adult, against a cost of £11.20 to park for three hours in the city centre most days of the week.
“That’s important because it highlights there’s a cheaper alternative – one that also contributes to reducing congestion in our city.
“York recently came top in the Good Growth for Cities Index, with a thriving economy and some of the lowest levels of unemployment in the country.
“Our footfall data shows the city is resilient and holding up well compared to the national average.
“The council is keen to help businesses promote alternative ways to travel in and out of York that help tackle congestion. The answer is working together to encourage people to consider and choose these alternatives rather than talking down the city, as that isn’t good for anyone.”
This was the reaction from Phil Pinder, chair of York High Street Forum.
“I think it’s staggering to read that the council’s actually questioning what Stuart Wood said.
“The evidence itself has backed it up, that the town centre is struggling, and we’ve seen month on month, since the introduction of parking charges in April, that actually there’s less and less people coming to park in York each month, and there aren’t increased numbers elsewhere.
“The sad reality is the council is impacting real harm on the city centre, and I dread to think where we’re going to be in another year’s time if we continue like this, especially with the forthcoming closure of Castle car park.
“I think the city centre businesses are really worried about the approach the council is taking. That is to say, let’s do some actions now and worry about the consequences later. I’m sorry that’s frankly, not good enough,”
