Sweeping changes to parking charges in Liverpool city centre have been "detrimental to business" with this Christmas acting as a major indicator if some can survive. That is the view of proprietors around Hope Street three months after the city council announced it would make the biggest shake-up to tariffs in more than a decade.
It was confirmed in May that two and a half years after the idea was first proposed, the local authority would finally move forward with plans to extend parking charges until 11pm. Despite almost 90% of people indicating they were against the move, councillors have pressed ahead with the change, arguing it would standardise parking across the city centre.
It had been expected the amendments would go live at the start of June. As a result, drivers are no longer able to leave their cars on city streets for free after 6pm.
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The move originates after a review of the controlled parking zone (CPZ) around the city centre back in 2018. An initial informal public consultation was held in February 2022 after which proposals were revised and a statutory consultation undertaken between July and August 2023.
The existing two hour maximum stay limit for pay and display bays on roads within the Hope Street area, will be extended to four hours. This includes Hope Street, Blackburne Place, Falkner Street between Hope Street and Catherine Street, Maryland Street between Hope Street and South Hunter Street and Caledonia Street.
Fiona Hornsby operates the Denbigh Castle and Bridewell pubs in the city centre and added The Pen Factory next to the Everyman Theatre to the stable of venues last year. She admitted that had the change to parking charges been on the table before she completed the deal, it may have given her cause to think again.
She said: "The pre-theatre crowd has completely dropped off. Now the time has changed, it doesn't give people long enough, you can't just walk out of the theatre to put extra money in can you?
"Hospitality is suffering under so much pressure already. Everyone's fearful of what's going to come in the budget anyway.
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"Some places are just trying to get on until Christmas, it's relentless at the minute. When you think you're getting somewhere they throw this at you." Matt Haycox is The Pen Factory's general manager and said the charges had hit the business' entertainment bookings alongside getting people in to see them.
He said: "We're forever trying to get people. It also impacts staff.
"The music we put on, the acts are having to pay more to bring their gear in and it's costing us more to get them to come here."
Fiona admitted she would have had a longer think about taking on the business had the impact of the charges been known. She added: "I just think it's really short sighted.
"We're trying to do things to adapt but it'll never fill the gap. Christmas will be the big tell."
Gary Manning has operated businesses around Hope Street for more than 20 years, including 60 Hope Street and The Quarter. He has been critical of the decision to implement the extended measures.
He said: "It's detrimental to business, we're down on numbers and table times because it's now until 11pm. People are staying for just an hour, having a main rather than more courses, drinking less.
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"It's not conducive to this side of the city." The city businessman said given the nature of Hope Street, a bespoke approach to parking may have been a better option for the area.
He said: "Business has had it hard enough with National Insurance rises and food inflation. We have already reduced our shifts and employee numbers so it is impacting jobs."
Echoing the sentiment of Fiona and Matt from the Pen Factory, Gary cited the importance of the Christmas period, highlighting how it "paid the debts for January and February."
Mark Da Vanzo is director of Hope Street CIC. He said: "Some of the concerns we raised to the committee are still there.
"We always supported the need to raise revenue, it was about making it easy to understand and make the most of the evening economy. It was introduced quickly and didn't make sense.
"What is unique about Hope Street is there's no real consistency to the spaces and there's not many off-street parking options. What we suggested was a flat evening rate which meant people could stay as long as they like.
"The council have been open about being prepared to engage and listen. Hope Street is an important part of town and we don't want it to suffer."
A Liverpool Council spokesperson said: "We acknowledge the concerns raised by several businesses regarding the impact of the new parking measures, and we are actively listening to all feedback. The council is proactively monitoring any effects of the revised operational hours within the Controlled Parking Zone, which includes Hope Street.
"A comprehensive review of the scheme is scheduled for next year."