The move comes in response to concerns that new parking fees could drive footfall away from local high streets
Market Café Lounge in Kingswood
A Kingswood café has offered to refund customers’ parking after new charges came into force at council-run car parks this week.
The Market Café Lounge said it would refund customers 70p – the cost of one hour’s parking – if they spend £5 or more at the eatery, located in Kingswood Indoor Market on Regent Street.
Taking to its Facebook page on Sunday (May 18), the café owners said they were “sad to hear” that some locals had said they would now be travelling to nearby retail parks with free parking – rather than visiting Kingswood – and that they wanted to make it “a little easier” for people who wanted to visit Kingswood high street.
Car parking charges came into effect at 22 council-owned car parks across South Gloucestershire on Monday (May 19). There are five Kingswood car parks affected – Bank Road, Boultons Road, Cecil Road, South Road and Kings Chase Shopping Centre.
Inside the cafe
The charges apply between 8am and 6pm, Mondays to Saturdays, with parking remaining free on Sundays and Bank Holidays.
South Gloucestershire Council has said that at least ten per cent of spaces in short-stay car parks will remain free for 30-minute stays – motorists will then be charged 70p for the first hour in short-stay car parks.
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Parking in long-stay car parks – such as Boultons Road in Kingswood – will cost £3 for the first four hours. Disabled Blue Badge holders will be able to park in any space for free, up to four hours.
In its Facebook post the café said: “We need your support! Like many local businesses, we were surprised to see parking charges introduced in our area before the planned town centre improvements have happened.
The Market Café Lounge
“The hope was always to make our high street more vibrant and welcoming to attract people back to the town centre — we have some brilliant independent shops, cafes and service providers.
“We’ve noticed some people on social media saying they’ll head to retail parks instead now, which is really sad to hear. We love our town and the community we’re part of — and we’d love for more people to come and discover what makes it special.
“To make it a little easier, we’ve decided to refund 70p (the cost of 1 hour’s parking in Cecil Road or Bank Road car parks) when you spend £5 or more with us in the cafe.
“We love being part of the Indoor Market, we have such lovely, loyal customers and we don’t want to lose any of you – what we want is for more people to realise that there are some real gems of businesses and people in our community. Let’s keep our high street thriving, together.”
South Gloucestershire Council said it needed to introduce the parking charges to help the local authority balance its budget and be able to afford other essential services in the future.
Speaking about the scheme previously Cllr Sean Rhodes, cabinet member for communities and local place, said: “The scheme we are introducing is simple and relatively cheap compared to neighbouring authorities.
“It doesn’t apply to all car parks, but where it does apply, the money we bring in will help protect essential services into the future.
“I’ve no doubt there will be a period of adjustment for some drivers, but I expect that most car owners already have several parking apps on their smartphones and are used to paying for parking almost everywhere they go.”
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