Conservative proposal on free car parking rejected again!
Bedford’s Beales department store is one of 12 stores in the group set for closure, it has been announced by administrators KPMG today (Friday, February 7, 2020)
“There is currently no intention to implement closure plans for the remaining 11 stores, which will all continue to trade as usual until the future of the business is clarified,” said KPMG.
Beales Bedford will continue to trade for the next few weeks in a prolonged clearance sale.
Beales had attempted to obtain rent reductions from its landlords which had ultimately ended in failure.
Conservative Group Leader on the Borough Council, Graeme Coombes, is highly critical of Mayor Dave commenting on the news of Beales closure, said: “The news that another well known retailer is disappearing from Bedford town centre should set alarm bells ringing at Borough Hall.
“After a recent string of high street departures, Beales can now be added to the list. It’s high time the Mayor pulled his finger out and took action to stem the flow of retail departures and falling visitor numbers, rather than just mouthing platitudes and wringing his hands.
“Sadly, another opportunity has been missed this week as the Mayor dismissed Conservative proposals to offer additional free parking to try and encourage more people to come into the town centre to shop.
“It’s high time he took steps to address the fast changing retail sector and provided the Bedford public with an exciting and viable town centre offering.”
Car parking income pays for the upkeep of the car parks including utility bills and business rates
As well as for other council services if there is any surplus. So what services would cllr coombes like cut even further that car parking income currently pays for? It’s so easy just say free car parking. Cllr Coombs knows that this will impact the council through reduced funding for services that would need to be found from elsewhere. So what does he suggest?
The view is that eventually very few people will have a reason to visit the town centre and then the revenue from parking will be zero. Attracting more footfall will enable businesses to keep on trading and paying business rates (the council keep a proportion of these).
It’s bit chicken and egg, but at the moment it’s all going south.
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