Drivers desert the city (From The Oxford Times)

Drivers desert the city

8:00am Thursday 2nd September 2010 in

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Stay-away motorists are adding to Oxford City Council’s mounting financial worries, with a big drop in car park use costing the council hundreds of thousands of pounds.

Empty spaces at the Westgate and other city council car parks have left the Town Hall contemplating an expected £700,000 drop in revenue from motorists.

But shoppers and local businesses say the city council has only got itself to blame after driving out motorists with high charges and 15 years of anti-motorist policies.

City centre car park usage is down by 11 per cent on last year. The impact on city finances is now so severe that the council is drawing up plans to get more motorists back into city centre car parks, after decades of measures to get people out of cars and on to buses and bicycles.

A whole series of inducements is being explored, including extending season tickets for businesses who require city centre parking for staff. The council will also be reviewing car park charges.

But the Town Hall was accused of acting too late, with ongoing increases in parking charges having already caused shoppers to desert the city centre in their thousands as traders struggled to survive the recession.

A finance report to the city council’s executive board yesterday said there had been an ongoing fall in usage of council car parks.

It says: “Car park income is forecast to be £700,000 below budget. The pressure on income will need to be taken into account in setting the 2011-12 budget.

“The car parking manager is considering the options for tariff adjustments and promotions to address the income shortfall and to stimulate demand.”

Last year, the city council increased its car park charges by an average of 15 per cent in a bid to raise an additional £500,000. It costs £7.60 to stay in the Westgate for three to four hours and £11.50 for four to six hours, rising on Saturday to £9.50 and £14.40 respectively. The charge in Gloucester Green car park is £16.70 for four to six hours on Saturday.

Ed Turner, deputy leader of the city council, said car parking was of one of the important sources of council income being hit by the recession.

“What we are seeing in the early months of the current financial year is a big drop in car parking usage. We have asked officers to see what can be done to address it. Every pound that we lose from car parking is a pound that we are not able to spend on local services.”

He dismissed suggestions of any U-turn in the council’s approach to motorists.

“We have always been keen to encourage people to come into the city centre by whatever means they choose. We have excellent networks of buses, park-and-rides and lanes for cyclists. Some people choose to come in by car and we respect that.

“Car parks provide an important part of our income and we wish to maintain that. There is no change in our approach. If we did not want people to drive into Oxford, we would not provide car parks.”

He said it was too early to set out details of options being looked at or possible cuts in charges.

He hoped recent increases in on-street parking charges would see more drivers returning to city council car parks.

Graham Jones, of the Rescue Oxford business group, said: “Whenever I pass the Westgate car park it is always half empty. This confirms all our suspicions that raising charges has put people off coming into Oxford. The increases have clobbered shoppers and local businesses. Now they are now hitting the city council itself.”

He said the city had for years taken the view that “cars are bad”.

“It has been a political decision, with the council wanting to prove its green credentials. But it has not done the city or the council itself any favours.”

He said the Town Hall had been unable to provide figures to establish whether missing motorists had deserted Oxford or transferred to city buses and park-and-rides.

“My own view is that Oxford has missed out on lots of potential shoppers and tourists,” he said.

A spokesman for the Oxford Bus Company said: “The numbers using buses at present are fairly static.”

Ray Lindsey, general manager of Haymans Fisheries in the Covered Market, said: “Many customers tell me to my face that the car parks are too expensive, while other places like Witney offer free parking.

“Without a shadow of a doubt it has had an impact. My wife used to come into Oxford every Saturday, but doesn’t any more. You can buy a joint of meat with the money saved from parking. The fact you are paying to park in such a dirty and not very secure place as the Westgate makes it worse.”

He said the company had just opened a unit in Osney Mead because of the availability of parking for customers.