Letter: Parking meters are ill-advised in a small market town
SIR – It is sad to see parking meters installed on Lymington high street (A&T, 29th July).
This is an ill-advised 1950s urban approach being applied to a small market town in the 21st century. The main effect of which will be to discourage shopping in the High Street.
We are living in post-pandemic times when customers are dealing with a cost-of-living crisis and when shops already face rising overheads, changing customer habits and ever-increasing competition from the internet.
Parking meters in such times are, if anything, the exact opposite to what should be done.
Last year it was reported that almost 50 shops a day disappear across the UK from high streets. In 2020 the UK lost more than 17,500 chain store outlets and this year it was reported that 16% of shops on Britain’s high streets stood empty.
Lymington needs to take a different approach. The high street should be smartened up, and tourists and visitors should be encouraged (not discouraged with parking meters).
Radical and perhaps quirky solutions could be looked into to encourage visitors and trade. Bristol, Lewes, Totnes and Stroud all have a local pound specifically for local small business. How about a Lymington Pound or New Forest Pound for encouraging spending in small local business?
Also how about having attractive murals on some empty wall spaces in the town? A statue perhaps of former local hero Harry Burrard Neale on the quay too?
If high street parking is being discouraged, could we have more cycling lock-up posts?
Were Lymington a city, there could at least be the possible point that so many people would park that there’d be no impact on trade; but it’s not, it is a small town.
On another note, the huge ugly wheelie bins New Forest District Council will soon impose upon us are also a bad idea for the area, offering little or no benefit, at great inconvenience and cost, and there’s no guarantee that the big plastic monstrosities will increase recycling either.
James Wild,
Lymington
