Brighouse Parking Fee Increase Sparks Concerns Among Businesses and Shoppers

Both small businesses and consumers have expressed concerns that increased parking charges would “just make it more and more difficult” for the town’s high street to maintain competitiveness against retail centers located outside the town. Effective 18 November, motorists in Brighouse will face a £2 charge for one hour of parking in on-street bays, marking a 400% increase from the prior 40p fee. A shopper commented that they believe “small businesses won’t stand a chance” due to this alteration. Calderdale Council stated that the increase aims to encourage the public to utilize larger, off-street parking facilities during peak demand periods and to prevent streets from becoming “clogging up” with vehicles. Nevertheless, individuals visiting the town centre informed the BBC that older residents would find it challenging to walk to stores from the limited number of remaining free parking spots. The elevated fees will be enforced on Commercial Street, Bradford Road, King Street, Market Street, Gooder Street, and Briggate. Blue Badge holders are exempt from these charges. Barbara Goodall, 82, from Dewsbury, remarked: “You can park in Tesco for two hours with no charge, but then you have to walk back into town, so anyone with any affliction is going to struggle.” John Murphy, who recently declared the closure of his shop, Czerwik Fine Wines and Cheeses, after 29 years, stated that the parking conditions have rendered trading “more and more difficult.” His business is located on Commercial Street, and he observed: “People are trying to shop locally. People say that they have been driving round five or six times to find a spot to park. “They get frustrated and park and shop at the supermarkets.” Joshua Donaire, a fellow shopkeeper and owner of the discount store DONS, is relocating to a larger premises but remains concerned about what lies ahead. He commented: “I think it will be a real negative. The elderly like to be able to park near the shop and pick up their stuff, but with charges like that they aren’t going to do it.” He further stated: “I think a lot of them will decide against coming to the town centre.” David Wilkinson, 51, was another shopper who expressed opposition to the fees. He remarked: “There’s not enough parking in Brighouse anyway, so charging a premium for it is a bit much. “For people with limited mobility, some have Blue Badges but there are also people who don’t have them who still have limited mobility and they are having to pay parking tariffs, they’re hardest hit.” Samuel Garfurth, a recent resident of Brighouse, concurred that the charge should have stayed at 40p. He added: “There’s not a lot of space to park here anyway. The last thing the town needs is for people to be put off from coming here to shop.” Sarah Courtney, Calderdale Council’s cabinet member for transport, commented: “We understand that increasing parking charges is never popular, but pricing is the most effective way to manage kerb space. A recent survey concluded that on-street spaces in Brighouse are at a premium and occupancy remains high on most days.“Due to this continued demand, we have identified that parking charges could be used to better manage the kerb space in the town and encourage use of the car parks in and around the town centre, where data showed that, even at peak times, there were over 100 available spaces.”