Kevin Hollinrake warned against local authorities raising car parking charges because of the damaging effect it would have on local businesses. Mr Hollinrake was speaking in the House of Commons in support of a Bill which seeks to allow councils to reduce parking charges without consultation, whilst insisting on consultation if they want to increase charges. Mr Hollinrake said that local authorities benefit from the success of businesses – retail or otherwise – but car parking charges put shoppers off.
He said that in Thirsk, where Hambleton Council introduced free parking for an hour, the number of shoppers and parkers had gone up, which has been good for business. However, in neighbouring York after the Council sold off some of their car parks and then hiked up prices, the effect, along with the growth of out of town shopping centres, had been devastating for independent retailers.