A COUNCIL has been accused of being ‘commercially clueless’ for keeping part of a town centre car park closed over the Easter weekend.

Visitors to Abingdon’s Charter multi-storey car park were met with a poster last week lamenting the fact the upper levels would not be open over much of the four-day break.

The Broad Street car park, which is run by Vale of White Horse District Council and described by the authority as ‘the closest car park for all the town centre’s shops and services’, offers two hours free parking Monday to Saturday but its upper levels are closed on Sundays and bank holidays.

On Good Friday, Bury Street shop The Gift Centre and Gallery tweeted: “Commercially clueless council has shut the car park again! Our customers cannot park...what century are we in?”

This was accompanied by a picture of the poster which had been stuck to the car park entrance sign calling the authority ‘useless’ and stating Bury Street shops were open, despite the multi-storey space being closed.

A representative for the shop did not wish to comment and it has not been confirmed whether the shop was responsible for the sign.

Responding to the criticism, a spokesperson for Vale of White Horse District Council said: “There is plenty of car parking space in Abingdon to meet demand during a bank holiday.

“The upper levels of the multi-storey are shut on Sundays and bank holidays – as clearly stated on the signage, however level one and two remain open and there are six other district council car parks nearby within easy walking distance of the town centre.”

Increasing footfall into the town centre has long been a major concern for residents, and was revealed as the third most pressing issue in a recent survey conducted by Abingdon Town Council for its community-led plan. As part of this process a meeting will also take place on April 16 in the Guildhall’s Roysse Room from 7pm to discuss town retail and town centre development.