Expensive car parks, residents’ parking zones and a possible ban on parking on grass verges could soon suck the life out of Epsom town centre, according to worried retailers and residents.

Parking for just half an hour in Epsom's town hall costs £1, with costs elsewhere in the town ranging from 80p to £1.80 for an hour.  This is the same as in Kingston - which is a major destination for shoppers given its much bigger size.  In Sutton shoppers can park for free for two hours in several car parks.

In a poll on this newspaper's website this week, 96 per cent of those who took part said Epsom car parks are too expensive.  

Now residents and shopkeepers, who believe people are being put off from visiting the town, and urging Epsom Council to lower parking costs, if only for short stays.

And the borough's new business development manager, Adam Worley, who is determined to revive the flagging high street and attract new businesses into the many vacant shops, said he has submitted a proposal to the council to review the "current strategy for its car parks", although he did not elaborate on what the proposal is.

Epsom resident Jane Race said the council must look at the issue "holistically".

She said: "It’s very expensive.  If you want to encourage people to use the town and make it attractive to businesses parking needs to compete with other towns and it’s not.

"It’s daft to have to pay 80p to pick up my dry cleaning."

She said the two-hour maximum stay in the Town Hall and Hope Lodge car parks forces people to use the multi-storey Ashley Centre car park, where parking for up to three hours costs £2.70. 

A new initiative recently announced by Surrey County Council (SCC), which is looking at setting up a 'no parking on verges zone' in Ewell, could also affect the town centre if it spreads to Epsom.

And Epsom’s first residents’ parking zone, introduced in June, is almost certain to expand - stopping people from parking just out of town and walking in.

Epsom town councillor Neil Dallen admits expansion is inevitable, although it will take "one or two years" to include new roads into the scheme.

On Monday, SCC's local committee for Epsom and Ewell approved recommendations to allow residents, who used to park in roads included in the residents’ parking zone, to apply for permits in those roads, although they do not live in them.

Christine Stanley, owner of Basler, in Epsom High Street, said people displaced by residents’ parking may go elsewhere if faced with the town centre’s car parks as their only other options.

She said: "With the state of Epsom as it is, they should do anything they can to encourage people to shop here.

"The first hour of parking should definitely be as cheap as possible.  The council should try making it cheaper, even if it was for a trial period.

"You can go to Sutton and do all of your food shopping and have a wander round the high street with two hours free parking in Morrisons.  Why would you come to Epsom?"

But Coun Dallen said that he does not believe people are being put off by the charges as car park use "has been consistent and increased slightly over the years".

He added: "If we were to make The Ashley Centre car park cheaper, everyone would go there and we would have a queue in the street.  It's not a simple subject."

Asked if charges would increase if demand from drivers, displaced by residents’ parking, increased, Coun Dallen said: "We don’t want to screw the public just because we’ve got residents’ parking."

A spokeswoman for Epsom Council, which estimates it will make £2.8million in revenue from Epsom and Ewell's car parks during this financial year, said it is "incorrect to say that Kingston and Sutton have lower car park charges" and that each of Epsom's town centre’s car parks "is focused on meeting particular parking needs and is priced and managed accordingly".

She said The Ashley Centre, Town Hall and Hope Lodge car parks are primarily for shoppers, while Depot Road, Upper High Street and Hook Road are priced to accommodate long-stay users.

She said that "parking is one of a number of factors to be taken into account but the quality of the retail offer is probably the most important" when considering how to boost the town's economic vitality.

The spokeswoman added that the number of people parking in Epsom's main car parks has increased in the last year and that "encouraging more people to visit the town outside of peak shopping periods when there is room in the car parks to accommodate extra visits" is more likely to boost economic growth.

She said that most of the displaced parking, from the the residents' parking zone, is commuter parking, for which the long-stay car parks are an alternative.

The spokeswoman said motorists can buy a "parker card" for £10 annually from the council, enabling them to park in Hook Road all day for £3.

But she said there is "likely to be more effective ways of promoting economic vitality" than introducing free parking for the first 30 minutes in the town centre’s car parks.

 

CAR PARKING CHARGES FOR A ONE-HOUR STAY

EPSOM

  • The Ashley Centre: £1.50
  • Depot Road and Upper High Street: 80p
  • Town Hall and Hope Lodge: £1.80

ELMBRIDGE

  • All town centre car parks: 60p

SUTTON

  • Brighton Road: 50p
  • Gibson Road: £1.20
  • Times Square: £1.60
  • Morrisons: free

KINGSTON

  • Ashdown Road: £2
  • Blagdon Road: 90p
  • Rose: £1.40

What do you think about parking in Epsom town centre?  Contact Hardeep Matharu on the newsdesk by emailing hmatharu@london.newsquest.co.uk or calling 0208 722 6346, or leave a comment below.

 

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