Harpenden parking charges petition discussed by council

Fiona Thomas, who runs boutique Oui and spoke on behalf of the Harpenden Retailers’ Association, made the comments while presenting a petition on Tuesday (September 10) calling on the council to reverse a decision to begin charging drivers for parking.

She presented a petition with 1,774 signatories, as well as paper and Change.org versions of the petition which had received a further 1,264 and 6,022 signatories respectively.

Fiona Thomas spoke at the meeting (Image: St Albans City and District Council)

Ms Thomas warned businesses would lose customers if the charges are implemented, and said: “Many independent retailers would be unable to withstand this loss of trade and would be forced to close.”

She asked councillors “to consider retaining the free one-hour parking” and to delay changes until the next financial year to give businesses time to factor in a “loss of footfall”.

Parking restrictions on Bowers Parade in Harpenden. (Image: Christopher Day)

Ms Thomas said: “There are better options to balance the budget, including a small additional charge on council tax, improving policing of the existing parking restrictions, [and] and improved range of permits for residents and retail employees.”

SADC implemented a 2.99 per cent rise in council tax this year – the highest allowed without holding a referendum.

The plans to charge for parking were included in the council’s budget for 2024/25 before a Traffic Regulation Order consultation was held this summer.

Cllr Helen Campbell (LD, Bernards Heath), Lead Member for Parking, Parks and Leisure, has said charges would help make parking “self-sufficient” to “ease the pressure on our hard-pressed budget and the other services we provide”.

Parking restrictions on Arden Grove in Harpenden (Image: Christopher Day)

Introducing the charges is expected to cost £40,000 in new signs, and would bring in additional income of £185,000 for 2024/25 and £268,000 in future years.

Under the proposals, drivers would be charged £2.50 per hour to park for up to two hours. They would also be able to park for free twice per day for up to 20 minutes.

Currently, it is free to park in the bays – in the High Street, Station Road, Arden Grove, Church Green and other roads – for thirty minutes, one hour or two hours.

Cllr Campbell noted the council’s on-street parking made an average loss of £400,000 per year in the four years to 2023/24.

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But it has not prevented a backlash. At yesterday’s Public Realm Committee meeting, Cllr Matt Cowley (Con, Harpenden South) said he “fully supports” the petition and warned residents would “drive elsewhere” if they had to pay for parking: “It’s difficult to put into words the level of public anger there is in Harpenden about these parking charges.

Cllr Matt Cowley (Image: St Albans City and District Council)

“I’ve not seen a political issue on a local level that gets repeated back to me when people see me in the street, other than this one.

“People are genuinely furious. They’re furious not just because of the decision the council might or might not take … they’re furious because they see this as a decision which the council took without talking to them, without engaging with them, without listening to them and is now sort of pretending to talk to them in order to justify the decision it’s already got in its budget.”

He asked the council to “push this into the next budget cycle so we can … have a proper debate and discussion” and consider alternative options.

The council’s Assistant Director (Regulatory and Compliance) said he would be “surprised” if the introduction of charges goes ahead in its “current format”.

Harpenden Town Council has also called on SADC to delay the roll-out of charges. SADC rejected a suggestion from the Town Council that they should form a partnership to “explore” alternative proposals.

Further information on the results of the consultation is expected in October, and the Public Realm Committee will discuss the issue again at its November meeting.