This is bad news for the growth of Gravesham and it's traders and shoppers.
Councillor Leslie Hills had this to say about the unwelcome decision ...
When the Conservatives were elected to Gravesham Borough Council in 2015, we provided a free Saturday parking slot as we had promised. We have frozen parking charges every year since. However Gravesham’s new Independent Party, who were elected as Conservatives on the same promise before splitting away, have now increased parking charges!
This is the last thing we need when trying hard to regenerate the town centre. Gravesend already has 250 vacant commercial premises and ‘footfall’ has reduced by 10% in the last year. The government has recently reduced business rates but these car park increases will go a long way to nullifying any benefit by keeping shoppers away.
We have the smallest economy in Kent with lower than average incomes. Bluewater shopping Centre is just a short distance away with free parking. Furthermore, we have several out of town Supermarkets. Dartford seems to appreciate the Bluewater effect, which despite having higher incomes than Gravesend, also has one of the lowest car park charges.
The Conservatives Party are strongly opposed to these unnecessary increases, which are the last thing that businesses and shoppers need.
