Pershore remains popular with shoppers and visitors with the help of a low cost car parking initiative.
That’s the conclusion from recent statistics which show that the level of car parking in the town’s central car park during January remained at a similar level compared with the previous year despite the start to the Pershore High Street Improvement works.
Nearly 5,000 motorists have already taken advantage of a car parking concession which provides up to 3 hours parking on Tuesdays, Wednesday and Thursdays for only 10 pence at the central High Street car park.
Cllr Tom McDonald, Wychavon’s spokesperson for Regeneration, said: “I am delighted that the combination of a wide range of quality independent shops, Number 8, plus the competitive car parking price has proved to be a success. It has so far helped to overcome some of the short-term inconvenience created by the roadworks. I hope more people will take advantage of the offer over the coming weeks.”
The car parking concession has been funded by a partnership including Pershore market Town Partnership, Pershore Town Council and Wychavon District Council and will remain in place during High Street roadworks.
It is a shame that the extra use of the car park in Pershore on the concession days is not down to shoppers, but people who work in Pershore taking advantage.
I know the council may well argue, but we have proof that this is the case. Proof being that local traders have admitted using the car park for parking mid week and also the fact that it is possible for residents to park on Church Street during those days, even if they have gone out during the day, they are able to park when they return, which is not the case on the other days when car park charges are normal.
Just counting the number of tickets issued does not mean that more shoppers are using Pershore because of the reduced parking charge, it just means more local people are using the facility instead of parking around the estates and walking in from there – it gives them a little extra time in bed of a morning!
People use car parks for many purposes. So yes the low price concession I am sure will be attracting some additional parking from non-shoppers. It’s acknowledged that the High Street roadworks has caused some disruption to shoppers and motorists. This inevitably has the real potential to harm business.
However I am working with Pershore Chamber of Trade and many individual traders and I am getting a clear mssage that the parking concession is working and it is helping them to retain business. It seems clear to me that on the whole Pershore is not the ghost town that some people predicted.
Looking to the future we need to ensure that awareness of the concession and the access to a wide range of quality shops and services is known to a wider public (especially shoppers) and we are therefore going to be advertising extensively over the next few weeks – with support from Pershore Chamber of Trade.
Whilst understanding the challenges, let’s all get behind the town and it’s traders and look to the real positive and not just the negative.