This is Kent -- SHOPPERS will be offered free parking on weekday mornings next month in a bid to tempt them into Herne Bay. Councillors agreed to spend £1,400 on a trial of free parking between 9am and 11am, Monday to Friday, in the Kings Road car park where the market is held on Saturdays. The money comes from Herne Bay Area Member Panel's opportunities fund - a pot of £10,000 a year for community projects that benefit the town. It will pay for advertising, changes to parking meters and for any lost revenue from car parking charges. Dylan Hampshire, of Cockett's Mattresses, suggested changing the time and copying other town's 'free after 3pm' schemes. And Andrew Lawrence, who runs the Speciality Food Store in Mortimer Street, said both mornings and afternoons were difficult for traders. He said: "From 9-11am is a dead zone, as is the last part of the day. "After 2.30pm, Herne Bay is dead. We are suffering then. "We could probably open from 11am to 2.30pm and then close our shops and go home because we have so few customers." He said local people refused to pay anything for parking, and seafront charges also put holidaymakers off. But West Bay councillor Peter Lee said parking was free for most of the year in Central Parade. Heron councillor Andrew Cook added: "This is an excellent project that both residents and businesses have been pushing for. "It will give us an accurate idea of what it actually costs to do free parking." Critics argued that the money was effectively going back into the council's pockets, to replace the income lost from parking charges during the trial. But Cllr Lee, who is responsible for finance on the council, said it was important to be able to tell how much revenue was lost. He added: "We can repeat it in the future if we can prove it can be self-funding. "This is a fair estimate of the income lost." Officials also vowed to investigate another suggestion of extending the free parking in town centre streets from one hour to two. The Kings Road car park scheme will start in April.
Reported by This is 17 hours ago.
This is Kent -- SHOPPERS will be offered free parking on weekday mornings next month in a bid to tempt them into Herne Bay. Councillors agreed to spend £1,400 on a trial of free parking between 9am and 11am, Monday to Friday, in the Kings Road car park where the market is held on Saturdays. The money comes from Herne Bay Area Member Panel's opportunities fund - a pot of £10,000 a year for community projects that benefit the town. It will pay for advertising, changes to parking meters and for any lost revenue from car parking charges. Dylan Hampshire, of Cockett's Mattresses, suggested changing the time and copying other town's 'free after 3pm' schemes. And Andrew Lawrence, who runs the Speciality Food Store in Mortimer Street, said both mornings and afternoons were difficult for traders. He said: "From 9-11am is a dead zone, as is the last part of the day. "After 2.30pm, Herne Bay is dead. We are suffering then. "We could probably open from 11am to 2.30pm and then close our shops and go home because we have so few customers." He said local people refused to pay anything for parking, and seafront charges also put holidaymakers off. But West Bay councillor Peter Lee said parking was free for most of the year in Central Parade. Heron councillor Andrew Cook added: "This is an excellent project that both residents and businesses have been pushing for. "It will give us an accurate idea of what it actually costs to do free parking." Critics argued that the money was effectively going back into the council's pockets, to replace the income lost from parking charges during the trial. But Cllr Lee, who is responsible for finance on the council, said it was important to be able to tell how much revenue was lost. He added: "We can repeat it in the future if we can prove it can be self-funding. "This is a fair estimate of the income lost." Officials also vowed to investigate another suggestion of extending the free parking in town centre streets from one hour to two. The Kings Road car park scheme will start in April.
Reported by This is 17 hours ago.