Down by the station there used to be a patch of land where you could park for free. Melton Borough Council resurfaced it and installed pay & display machines. It now costs £3.30 for us to park there on Saturday. It also costs our customers money to park, of course. There are now no free parking spots in the centre of town. On Saturday Sharon overheard muttering and grumbling coming from people who were queuing to put their money into the machine and asked them their opinions on the charges. They expressed the view that the charges were an unfair imposition and were angry and resentful about them. They were obviously not starting their visit to Melton in a frame of mind conducive to happy shopping. Their mindset was negative.
Just out of town their is a large Tesco's. You can park there for free. You can also use their toilets for free. In town you have to pay 30 pence. Another annoying little expense. I know this is a bit of a boring topic and you can, no doubt, detect the nasty whining tone in my voice, but it is this kind of practical issue that has contributed significantly to the decline of markets and town centres. Surely it is so obvious that it doesn't need a Mary Portas to point it out. Or perhaps our politicians and planners are so out of touch that they only notice the obvious if its presented to them via an expensive glossy report.
Mary Portas recommendations has led to the government to creating a £10 million fund to encourage the utilisation of empty shops. This sounds a lot until you compare it with the new Westfield shopping centre next to the Olympic Stadium in Stratford. This is a 1.45 billion pound enterprise. The shops there will be the usual big chains selling goods made cheaply in the Far East. Not good news for the small traders of London.
'But it creates jobs!', the politicians proclaim noisily. Jobs for shop assistants, security guards, cleaners and for the sweat shops of the Orient. Is this the kind of economy we really want?
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