- A parliamentary petition launched by retail event organiser Spring & Autumn Fair urges the government to grant 90 minutes of free parking in town and city centres to boost high streets.
- Jackson Szabo, portfolio director at Spring & Autumn Fair, said: “At the moment, whether you can enjoy free parking for half an hour, an hour or not at all depends entirely on your postcode.”
- Sixty-three per cent of UK consumers said free parking would encourage them to visit their local high street more regularly, according to a survey.
- The Voice of Retail report, commissioned by Spring & Autumn Fair, found that almost four in 10 independent retailers viewed free parking as the single most important action local authorities could take to support town centres.
- Fashion designer Jeff Banks has signed the petition, saying: “If we’re serious about supporting local shops and the communities around them, we need to remove the barriers that make visiting the high street harder than it needs to be.”
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