90 minutes free parking: Campaign to boost high street footfall

Written by Jackson Szabo, portfolio director for Spring and Autumn Fair

There’s no shortage of commentary about the challenges facing Britain’s high streets. However, our conversations with independent retailers tell a more optimistic story: many of you are adapting, innovating and investing in growth.

Those discussions inspired us to try and understand what would make the biggest difference to the future of Britain’s high streets. And earlier this year we launched the Voices of Retail report in partnership with Faire.

The findings from this research have led Spring and Autumn Fair to launch a parliamentary petition calling on local authorities in England to introduce a minimum of 90 minutes of free parking in town and city centres.

We believe implementing this across the country would make it easier for people to support their local high streets and the independent businesses they already value.

Over a third of retailers (38 per cent) identified free parking as the single intervention most likely to have a positive impact on their business. Meanwhile, 63 per cent of consumers said being able to leave their car for free would encourage them to visit town and city centres more often.

We’re pushing the government for 90 minutes because it gives shoppers enough time to browse independent shops, stop for a coffee, visit other local businesses and spend more across the town centre.

Elsewhere, our research revealed every reason for indies to be optimistic. More than seven in ten retailers told us their business is either stable or growing, while 96 per cent of shoppers said independent retailers are important to their local communities.

Nearly all respondents said they would spend more if their local high street offered a better mix of shops (95 per cent), while even more want town centres to be destinations for experiences outside of retail.

Creating those destinations will ultimately depend on local action. While national policy has an important role to play, decisions around parking, accessibility and town centre investment sit largely with local authorities. We believe parking should be viewed not simply as a source of revenue, but as a tool to stimulate footfall, strengthen local businesses and support thriving town centres.

Our petition is designed to start that conversation – and we need 100,000 signatures for this issue to be debated by Parliament. That’s why we’re asking for your support and encouraging suppliers, trade associations and media partners to help amplify the campaign. As well as signing, you can spread the word by promoting the petition in-store and online using our retailer campaign pack (details for both below).

Consumers have told us what they want from their high streets and retailers have told us what’s holding them back. It’s now time to turn that insight into action.

Jackson Szabo is portfolio director for Spring and Autumn Fair. To find out more about the show visit autumnfair.com.