FSB calls for review of parking
policies to help small firms
The
Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) is urging local authorities to rethink
their town centre parking policies in a bid to protect local enterprises.
In
the first manifesto of its ‘Keep Trade Local Campaign,’ the FSB argues that restrictive and costly parking is hitting high street profits nationwide.
The group is now calling on local
authorities to view parking as an ‘essential service’ rather than a ‘short-term
revenue grab’.
Parking policy should also be seen as an
integral part of transport strategy and must be tailored to the individual
locality, the manifesto states.
FSB National Chairman, John Wright, said: ‘High
streets across the country are the engines of local economies and they depend
on sensible parking provision for successful businesses.
‘Yet this dependence is being
undermined by local authorities who treat parking as a quick revenue grab
rather than an essential service that benefits local communities and economies.’
He
added: ‘Only when parking policies are seen as a service that is bespoke, smart
and a fundamental part of an area's transport strategy will independent
retailers survive on our high streets and in our town centres.’
According to
recent figures, local authorities in