Tag Archive for: parking news

Parking Charges Increase in January 2020

The cost of car parking in Merton Council’s car parks and on the streets in Wimbledon will be increasing on 14th January 2020.

 

Businesses will be aware that Love Wimbledon has been continuously lobbying to oppose these price increases by Merton Council. The reason for this increase is based on the need to improve air quality in the town centre.

Love Wimbledon is very supportive of initiatives that are likely to improve air quality and are working on a number of initiatives, such as recently planting 250 trees on Hartfield Road, as part of the The Woodland Trust’s ‘Free Trees for Schools and Communities’ programme. However, this hike in parking prices will not impact buses and through-traffic, which create significant emissions for the town.

We are lobbying GLA and TfL to assist with this, for example, by changing their policies to introduce a cleaner bus fleet, as we strongly believe that raising parking charges by such a high percentage will have a detrimental impact on people’s perceptions of visiting the town – pushing them out to retail parks and further incentivising online shopping.

Read more on Love Wimbledon’s parking campaign and our work to oppose this price increase, including our response to Merton Council’s Parking Consultation.

We would of course also encourage you to use public transport wherever possible to reduce emissions and congestion in the town.

Please note that whilst the Merton Council car parks and on-street parking are increasing, Centre Court and The Bridge car park prices will remain the same. For further details on these parking charge increases, visit the Merton Council website.

Latest Wimbledon Parking Update

parking update Aug 2019

At the latest Merton Council meeting about the rise in parking charges, our CEO Helen Clark Bell spoke about the lack of evidence that this change to the parking fees will have on the air quality in the town. Whilst we are all agreed air quality needs to be improved and the council needs to do all it can, she highlighted the high proportion of through traffic and buses that will not be impacted by this proposal and therefore this policy will not have the desired impact on air quality that we are all seeking to achieve.

 

Helen went on to advise that there maybe unintended consequences on the town at this particularly sensitive time for retail and given that there was not sufficient evidence or targets in place, and that we can’t afford to experiment with the health and vibrancy of our high streets.

 

The changes cannot be introduced yet as the Overview and Scrutiny Commission decided that due process was not undertaken sufficiently, but it is expected Merton Council will be implementing the significant rise in parking charges in Wimbledon town centre in the autumn.

 

Within our written and verbal responses, we lobbied for an increase in 20 minute free bays and also a relaxing of the punitive evening operating hours within the council operated car parks. We have secured a £2 flat rate after 6pm in Queens Road and St George’s Road car parks to help support the evening economy.

 

Read more information on the Merton Council Parking Consultation.