"Free parking on Saturdays would not benefit the overall economy"

Friday 13 September 2024

Ministers have shot down calls from more than 1,200 islanders for free parking in town on weekends, arguing that it would not benefit the local economy and that weekday costs would likely have to rise.

Published in April, an e-petition by former Senator Ben Shenton argued that free parking in all States-operated car parks would boost footfall in town and help the high street.

"The internet is killing retail and St Helier is becoming a ghost town," he said. "There is research suggesting that parking charges are a major factor in deterring shoppers and visitors to restaurants so let's remove that barrier."

But the government did not accept his argument in responding to the petition after it topped 1,000 signatures – the limit at which the Council of Ministers must formally reply.

While acknowledging that there had been an "increase in commercial vacancies and footfall is still recovering post-covid", Ministers maintained that "the town centre continues to perform positively compared to the situation nationally", adding: "Free parking on Saturdays would not benefit the overall economy and likely increase the cost of weekday parking".

Noting that the "majority of the island's working age population either live or work in St Helier", they claimed that this will provide enough of a "reliable customer base for businesses that can adapt to the challenges posed by the internet".

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However, the response said that the Government was "working with retailers and the Parish of St Helier" and that a new Retail Strategy would be published by the end of 2024 which will "address the root causes of decline and explore evidence-based approaches for business and government to tackle these issues".

Ministers also suggested that free parking would "reduce bus ridership, and harm the environment", conflicting with the aims of the Carbon Natural Roadmap which strives to "encourage bus travel".

They added that there was also an economic argument for encouraging bus use: "Studies have shown that visitors to town travelling by bus generally intend to spend more money than motorists. Increasing the number of visits by bus therefore has the potential to be of more benefit to both the hospitality and retail sectors."

Elsewhere in the response, concerns were raised that loss of income to the Car Park Trading Fund would result in less maintenance for current car parks and reduced investment in the creation of 'new, convenient shopper facilities', such as the Charles Street Car Park.

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Petition calls for free parking in St Helier on Saturdays