Huddersfield shop owner says new parking charges have brought ‘worst days of the year’

A Huddersfield shop owner is worried about the future of his town center business after parking charges rose.

Paul Ellis, who runs Lost Property Coffee Shop and Kitchen on Byram Street, said the past two weeks since the allegations rose had been the worst of the year so far. Rates have risen from £2 for 90 minutes, or the maximum stay, to £3.30 for 90 minutes.

Additionally, a number of ticket machines are down and telling people to use the app. During the day however, many customers are older and could not do this.

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Paul said: “We’ve had various customers complain that it’s expensive, the food will take a long time because they don’t want to pay more than 45 minutes for parking.

“We’ve just seen a pretty drastic drop in trade over the last couple of weeks as well. I also think the fact that the parking meters that are there are out of action at the moment because I think they’re putting new ones in.”

As a result, Paul is increasingly concerned about what the future of his business might be with fewer customers coming in, especially with the costs of running such a large business at the moment. He added: “I think it just makes it harder, it brings less and less people into the city, which is the opposite of what we need.

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“Small businesses, if we don’t have people coming in, then we’re not all going to be there, right?”

Paul is now considering offering to cover at least part of people’s parking charges to help attract more customers.

He added: “Going forward, if it doesn’t pick up, I don’t know, we should think about moving out of the city center or something. Which would be a shame, wouldn’t it? “

For now, Paul hopes business will pick up and he can stay, but with high overheads he’s worried about the future.

David Shepherd, Strategic Director for Growth and Regeneration at Kirklees Council, said: “Tax rises are not a decision we ever take lightly, but parking charges have remained static for 14 years. We appreciate that the provision of car parking is an important factor in providing the premises. transport needs for retail, commuters and visitors, so we undertook a thorough consultation before implementing any changes.

“The new charges are in line with other parking charges across the region, retaining both long and short stay parking. We are also keen for city center visitors to use public transport and there is ongoing investment in these transport networks. understand that there are many pressures on business and that business owners must make decisions based on their business needs.

“The increase has only been in place for just over a week, including a bank holiday, so we will continue to monitor the impact.”