Harrow free parking being scrapped is 'creating another barrier' for residents to go to town centre

A North London council has been accused of ‘creating yet another barrier’ to cash-strapped residents and employees in the town centre following the scrapping of free night time parking. A local business owner suggested the decision is at odds with the council’s claim that the night-time economy is ‘one of their priorities’ but the local authority said the changes ‘ensure parity’ with visitors and the surrounding areas.

The owner of Trinity Bar and representative of Harrow’s night-time economy, Christopher Perdue, raised the issue with councillors at a recent Full Council meeting (Thursday, November 28). He pointed to a recent petition signed by more than 2,000 residents and local businesses as evidence of the ‘public outcry’ at the policy to remove free parking in town centre car parks.

Mr Perdue highlighted that the hospitality industry especially is ‘really struggling’ and believes the changes are detrimental to the prosperity of the town centre. He said: “18 months ago, I and other night-time businesses met with council leaders and were assured that the night-time economy of Harrow was one of their priorities.”

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He added: “Given that, and the public outcry on this policy, could you please explain why free night-time parking has been removed from Harrow town centre, creating yet another barrier to already cash strapped residents in frequenting the town at night as well as making working for such businesses untenable for many of their staff and performers, who are not served by public transport late at night?”

There is wide-spread opposition to the removal of evening free parking after 6.30pm in Greenhill Way and Davy House (Lyon Road) car parks in Harrow town centre, as well as the removal of free evening parking from Monday to Saturday and all day on Sundays at Palmerston Road Car Park in Wealdstone town centre.

Mr Perdue has previously suggested that it is unacceptable for the council to ignore the voices of shopkeepers, restaurants, cafés - as well as community run and faith facilities which are also impacted.

In response, the Portfolio Holder for Business, Employment and Property, Cllr Norman Stevenson, pointed to increased investment in Harrow Town Centre, which he claimed has seen ‘an increase in business confidence’. In October, the total vacancy rate of shops in the town centre was 5.02 per cent - down from 12.2 per cent in January 2023, according to council figures.

Cllr Stevenson added: “The introduction of charges in the evenings ensures parity between day and night-time visitors to the town centre. We are the administration that’s brought in one-hour free parking [...] and I think that is one of the things that has helped boost footfall in the town centre.”

Mr Perdue went on to question why the night time parking charges have not been rolled out borough-wide, pointing to Pinner and Hatch End where the rules are different and wondered why the town centre ‘has particularly been targeted’.

He added: “Especially with a hospitality industry that is really struggling at the moment and [then] putting up barriers to going out - I don’t think it’s beneficial to the town.”

Cllr Stevenson stressed that the council ‘definitely don’t want to put up barriers’ and are wanting to help local businesses. He suggested there are ‘many, many areas’ in the town centre where there is still free parking, whilst also pointing out that in car parks where the charges have been introduced - such as Greenhill Way - are competitive with nearby areas.

As the first hour is free, it is possible to park at Greenhill Way car park for two hours for a cost of £1.60. This compares to £4 in Barent, £3.20 in Ealing, and £3 in Brent, according to Cllr Stevenson.

He added: “At the end of the day, we are open to discussing this further. The petition has been presented to the council, so the door is open to discuss this and we have met with the Business Improvement District (BiD) when this was put forward in the first place. I know this isn’t necessarily satisfactory at the moment but we are very happy to meet again.”

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