The survey, carried out by Cambridge Business Improvement District (BID), which works to support almost 1,100 businesses in the city centre, revealed that:
- 92% of businesses surveyed believe that the increase would discourage visitors to the city.
- 93% of businesses surveyed believe that the increase would drive an increasing number of visitors to shop elsewhere or on-line.
- 94% of businesses feel that the City Council should look at alternative ways of increasing revenue other than through car park price increases.
- 99% of respondents feel that the level of charges discourages a reasonable length of stay to include shopping and refreshments.
- 95% of business respondents believe that the City Council should consider introducing early-bird and twilight discounts to utilise spare capacity in some car parks.
- 97% of business respondents believe that The City and County Council should demonstrate more effective joint working in regards to accessing the city centre.
Cambridge has today been named as the most expensive city for parking outside London. It currently costs £26 to park for more than five hours at the shopping centre on Saturdays and £25 from Monday to Friday.
Edward Quigley Cambridge BID Manager said: “Cambridge businesses requested that we undertake the survey to reflect their views to the City Council. The results show very strongly that the City Council needs to review their proposals and seek alternative strategies to generate revenue, rather than continuing a year-on-year off-street parking charge increases. Many businesses feel that the viability and vitality of city centre businesses will be further damaged by the proposed increases.”
He added: “Cambridge BID recognises the pressures that the City Council and parking services are under, both to make savings and generate additional income. We are keen to work with the City Council to identify commercial opportunities that could off-set the proposed price increases. We have met recently with Councillors and senior officers and will continue to do so to encourage them to look at alternative strategies for different car parks. We are requesting, on behalf of Cambridge Businesses that they delay these proposals and invest more time into exploring other avenues to generate greater income.”