{"id":109347,"date":"2025-05-17T15:32:18","date_gmt":"2025-05-17T15:32:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/109347\/"},"modified":"2025-05-17T15:32:18","modified_gmt":"2025-05-17T15:32:18","slug":"we-were-britains-best-high-street-what-happened-locals-accuse-council-of-squeezing-the-life-out-of-their-town-and-say-theyre-suffering-death-by-a-thousand-cuts","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/109347\/","title":{"rendered":"‘We were Britain’s best high street – what happened?’ Locals accuse council of ‘squeezing the life’ out of their town and say they’re suffering ‘death by a thousand cuts’"},"content":{"rendered":"

Once hailed as Britain’s best high street, York’s vibrant Bishopthorpe Road was feted for its buzzing shops, lively cafes and community spirit.<\/p>\n

But traders now warn it risks becoming the latest casualty of Britain’s high street crisis, with some fearing a slow ‘death by a thousand cuts’ as rising costs and soaring parking fees drive customers away.<\/p>\n

Affectionately known as Bishy Road, the street had defied the malaise endured in towns across the country – with its traditional butchers, bakers, and greengrocers still to succumb to the scourge of vape shops and Turkish barbers.<\/p>\n

That was until officials at Labour-run City of York Council last month sanctioned a sweeping rise in parking charges – with the cost of an hour’s parking hiked 506 per cent from 80p to \u00a34.85, and \u00a35.30 on Fridays and Saturdays.<\/p>\n

A two-hour stay now costs customers \u00a39.70 – up from just \u00a31.60, and rising to \u00a310.60 on Fridays and Saturdays.<\/p>\n

The impact, say traders, has been near immediate – with pictures posted online of the once brimming car park now almost empty.<\/p>\n

Todd LePage, 57, who runs Pextons Hardware, said the effects were already being felt.<\/p>\n

‘Last weekend would traditionally have been our busiest of the year,’ he said.<\/p>\n

\"Once <\/p>\n

Once hailed as Britain’s best high street, York’s vibrant Bishopthorpe Road was feted for its buzzing shops, lively cafes and community spirit – but locals say that is now in jeopardy thanks to rising costs and soaring parking fees<\/p>\n

\"Todd <\/p>\n

Todd LePage, 57, who runs Pextons Hardware, said the effects of hiked up parking charged were already being felt<\/p>\n

\"Mr <\/p>\n

Mr LePage said it feels ‘like the atmosphere has been sucked out’ of Bishopthorpe Road in York<\/p>\n

\"The <\/p>\n

The once brimming car park is now seen almost empty after the council introduced a rise in parking costs<\/p>\n

‘And year-on-year, we were 22 per cent down. That was on a beautiful, sunny weekend.. It was very, very disappointing.<\/p>\n

‘Some of the cafes are down around 20 per cent on their revenue. And the energy of the street has changed.\u00a0<\/p>\n

‘We’re seeing fewer families, fewer children \u2013 it’s like the atmosphere has been sucked out of it.<\/p>\n

‘We’re already dealing with business rates that have gone up 150 per cent, rising staffing costs, national insurance hikes, and rampant inflation over the last few years.<\/p>\n

‘It begins to feel like death by a thousand cuts. We work extremely hard to keep this street vibrant, but you can only take so much before it starts to crumble.<\/p>\n

‘This little car park is now more expensive than parking in Kensington and Chelsea on a Friday or Saturday. It’s more expensive than Manhattan, Liverpool, and Edinburgh city centres. You just can’t make this sort of stuff up.’<\/p>\n

Mr LePage, whose shop is celebrating its 90th anniversary this year, said that the parking charges were pushing loyal customers to shop elsewhere.<\/p>\n

‘People might come for a bag of sand or compost – something they can’t carry home. But now, they’re not going to pay \u00a35 just for the privilege of buying a bag of compost.<\/p>\n

\"Lindsey <\/p>\n

Lindsey Gill, 58, who runs salon Evolve Hairdressing and employs 19 staff, said customers are\u00a0 thinking twice before booking an appointment because they can’t justify paying a fiver to park\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"Carolyn <\/p>\n

Carolyn Hodgson, visiting the street for a haircut, said the new charges were putting off locals who once made Bishy Road their go-to shopping spot<\/p>\n

\"Ruth <\/p>\n

Ruth Phillips, 44, co-owner of The Good Food Shop with Daniel Moore, estimated that 20 per cent of their trade came from people using the car park<\/p>\n

\"Affectionately <\/p>\n

Affectionately known as Bishy Road, the street had defied the malaise endured in town’s across the country – with its traditional butchers, bakers, and greengrocers still to succumb to the scourge of vape shops and Turkish barbers<\/p>\n

‘They’ll drive another six or seven miles to a retail park instead, adding to congestion and pollution, which is exactly what the council claims to want to avoid.’<\/p>\n

York City Council defended the increases as necessary to avoid cuts to other services.<\/p>\n

When MailOnline visited Bishy Road – named High Street of the Year in 2015 – the car park was full, though not with shoppers visiting the key-cutting shops or alterations business.<\/p>\n

It instead had been commandeered by visitors to nearby York Races.<\/p>\n

Lindsey Gill, 58, who runs salon Evolve Hairdressing and employs 19 staff, said: ‘This is a street where people would make a day of it \u2013 pop in for a haircut, grab a coffee, pick up some groceries.<\/p>\n

‘But now, customers are telling me they’re thinking twice before booking an appointment because they can’t justify paying a fiver just to park. We’re losing business, plain and simple.<\/p>\n

‘I’m a small business owner trying to keep my head above water in a cost-of-living crisis. This isn’t just a number on a balance sheet \u2013 it’s my livelihood.<\/p>\n

‘York is supposed to be a historic, thriving city. But if you make it too hard for people to come here, they just won’t.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"Millie's' <\/p>\n

Millie’s’ fruit and veg, run by husband and wife team Simon and Leanne Baynes, said: ‘Our takings may be down and our car park empty, but we won’t give up on telling the council how wrong this is’<\/p>\n

\"The <\/p>\n

The couple say the higher parking fees have had ‘a massive impact’ on their community<\/p>\n

\"The <\/p>\n

The owners of the Good Food Shop say their business’s takings had ‘flat-lined’ since parking charges surged<\/p>\n

‘I don’t want to end up on a ghost street, but that’s the direction we’re heading.<\/p>\n

‘It’s like they’re slowly squeezing the life out of us.<\/p>\n

‘Bishy Road was awarded Britain’s Best High Street in 2015 and this policy is strangling the very thing that gives York its individuality and power to attract tourism.’<\/p>\n

Carolyn Hodgson, visiting the street for a haircut, said the new charges were putting off locals who once made Bishy Road their go-to shopping spot.<\/p>\n

She said: ‘Considering the car park used to be 20p an hour, it just doesn’t make any sense.<\/p>\n

‘I’m paying \u00a310 to park, just to get my hair cut. That’s another tenner on your haircut \u2013 and not everyone’s going to do that.<\/p>\n

Ms Hodgson, who now lives a few miles away in Acomb, added: ‘I come down to use these shops, but if you make it this difficult, people just won’t bother.<\/p>\n

‘And it’s not like there’s anywhere else to park around here – it’s all residential. People are just dumping their cars down side streets now, which isn’t fair on the people who live there.<\/p>\n

\"Labour-run <\/p>\n

Labour-run City of York Council last month sanctioned a rise in parking charges – with the cost of an hour’s parking hiked 506% from 80p to \u00a34.85, and \u00a35.30 on Fridays and Saturdays<\/p>\n

‘It’s a silly idea, really. I get they want to encourage buses and bikes, but it’s just not always practical. Sometimes you just need to nip in and pick something up, and they’ve made that impossible.’<\/p>\n

Millie’s’ fruit and veg, run by husband and wife team Simon and Leanne Baynes, posted images on its social media channels of the near-empty car park.<\/p>\n

Leanne, 39, commented: ‘Our takings may be down and our car park empty, but we won’t give up on telling the council how wrong this is.’<\/p>\n

She added: ‘I’m in total dismay what the council have done. Hiking it up to more than a fiver is not just harmful to our business but also has a massive impact on the community around us.<\/p>\n

‘Last week I had a phone call from a customer who was in tears apologising for not been able to get down for his weekly shop because he can no longer afford to park.<\/p>\n

‘The council say it has put our prices up to ease congestion in the city. However we are finding our customers who do drive are been diverted to outer-city shopping areas, not only adding to congestion but city pollution also.<\/p>\n

‘The council has been quick to take advantage of our lovely, once busy street without thinking of the long-term impact this will have.’<\/p>\n

Ruth Phillips, 44, owner of The Good Food Shop, estimated that 20 per cent of her trade came from people using the car park.<\/p>\n

\"A <\/p>\n

A petition that has been launched said the price hikes are ‘unreasonable, unaffordable, and damaging to the local community’<\/p>\n

\"Residents <\/p>\n

Residents parking signs doctored to stop shoppers parking outside their homes nearby<\/p>\n

She said her business’s takings had ‘flat-lined’ since parking charges surged.<\/p>\n

Traders have launched a petition in a bid to get the council to rethink the parking hike.<\/p>\n

It reads: ‘These increases are unreasonable, unaffordable, and damaging to the local community.\u00a0<\/p>\n

‘Bishopthorpe Road is a vibrant, independent high street with small businesses that rely heavily on footfall from both local residents and visitors.<\/p>\n

‘These proposed charges risk deterring Bishy Road shoppers and diners, and undermining the viability of independent businesses already facing economic strain.’<\/p>\n

City of York Council claimed the new pricing structure made bus travel more affordable than car parking if staying for two hours or more.<\/p>\n

A spokesman said it was ‘listening and monitoring the impact’ of the increased parking charges.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Once hailed as Britain’s best high street, York’s vibrant Bishopthorpe Road was feted for its buzzing shops, lively…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":109348,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[51,92,1102,8414,12,16,15],"class_list":{"0":"post-109347","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-business","8":"tag-business","9":"tag-dailymail","10":"tag-edinburgh","11":"tag-labour","12":"tag-news","13":"tag-uk","14":"tag-united-kingdom"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/114523901076359254","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/109347","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=109347"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/109347\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/109348"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=109347"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=109347"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=109347"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}