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WALTHAM FOREST: Council announces free parking following pressure from businesses (From East London and West Essex Guardian Series)
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WALTHAM FOREST: Council announces free parking following pressure from businesses
11:14am Thursday 19th November 2009
THE council is dropping parking charges at six of its car parks for two hours every Saturday in the run up to Christmas in a bid to attract shoppers.
The move follows pressure from local traders and the opposition Conservative group to ease parking restrictions to help smaller businesses in the recession.
The car parks in Church Lane, Leytonstone, Stanley Road, Leyton, South Grove, Walthamstow, and Larkshall Road, Highams Park, will offer the first two hours of parking free.
Council leader Chris Robbins described the move as an “early Christmas present”.
Waltham Forest Council's Leader, Cllr Chris Robbins, said: "We want to get people into our town centres and this is one way of making that happen.”
Cllr Matt Davis, Conservative group leader said: "I am delighted that the Labour and Lib Dem members are finally listening to what the borough's shopkeepers have been saying for some considerable time."
But Cllr Davis said its not enough and the borough's parking problems need "fixing."
The new arrangements begin on Saturday and continue until January 2.
What do you think? Will this help or should the council have been doing more to help local businesses a long time ago?
Leave a comment below.
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Your Say Your Guardian
Fedupwithitall, Waltham Forest says...
3:11pm Thu 19 Nov 09
Malcolm Shykles, Highams Park says...
7:24pm Thu 19 Nov 09
If these were charged at £5 a day (as at Larkshall Road Car Park) that would bring in a fair income.
Compare this with the users of Station Car Parks who also have to find another £2,000 for the rail fare to get to work and earn the wherewithal to finance this borough!
As a centre for the local control of Global Warming the Borough does set a good example.
hotredman, says...
11:03pm Thu 19 Nov 09
Redfox, Walthamstow says...
1:32pm Fri 20 Nov 09
as for car use in the borough generally - when are they going to promote using public transport or bikes for council's own staff? Forest Road site is jammed-packed on each weekday, with plenty of ticketable offences going unpunished!
Parking on verges, parking in yellow boxes and on double-yellow lines, not to mention parking where there are no spaces marked at all.
Get the Guardian photographer down there and show up their one rule for US and another for the plebs elsewhere.
Pamella, Highams Park says...
10:44am Mon 23 Nov 09
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Techno2, Walthamstow says...
12:04pm Thu 19 Nov 09
To do this and target the help is difficult, but they could help the market traders out by dropping the extra pitch fees if they take extra stall space on (God knows there is now room enough).
I would prefer it if this help went to locals (on the theory that they would spend the money they made locally and employ locals to work with them) so perhaps if they offered such help only for those traders who are also residents in the borough, for instance by giving the discount to those who can prove they are also local council tax payers.