THE amount of money raised by controversial car parking charges in South Gloucestershire is set to fall short of the council’s target.
Monitoring by the authority also shows that usage of car parks is down by more than the national average.
The council says it expects the charges at 22 of its car parks, including Byron Place, Haynes Lane and Page Road in Staple Hill, and at St James Street in Mangotsfield, to raise £557,000 during the current financial year – about 30% below the £800,000 target.
As the charges were introduced after the start of the financial year, the adjusted forecast for the first full year of operation from May is expected to be £630,000 – just over 21% below the target.
The council has been unable to provide figures for the use of car parks in Staple Hill, where traders say business is down by up to 40% since the charges were introduced last May and rows of empty spaces can frequently be seen.
But it says usage of car parks in Kingswood, including the Kings Chase shopping centre, is 7.4% below the previous year, compared to a national decrease of 5.1%. It says that in Downend, where there are no charges for parking, car park use is down 4.6%.
Around 40 traders from Staple Hill met with council officials at Page Community Hall late January to discuss the impact of the charges.
Staple Hill Chamber of Trade chair George Georgiou, who runs the Butcher’s Hook in the High Street, says they appealed to the council to introduce a new half-hour of free parking for all spaces, to stem the loss of customers.
George said: “My trade is down between 30 and 40% and other traders are the same.
“I’ve had to get rid of staff and am thinking of cutting my opening hours and closing at 1pm instead of 4pm – if people aren’t coming to the High Street, what’s the point in keeping my fridges on?
“I’ve put the business up for sale but no-one is interested in buying it – we’re hanging on by our fingertips.”
The council says the charges are providing “vital funding” to support council services.
A spokesperson said: “Local traders have expressed concerns that charging for car parking is affecting the number of visitors to their businesses, and the council is listening to those concerns.
“Looking forward, based on the data and feedback, the council will look at potential amendments to the scheme to simplify the charges in some locations, for example where a car park has areas for both long and short stays.
“Proposals will be contained in a draft revised order, under which charging was introduced, that will be published for consultation soon.”