Published at 13:20, Friday, 18 December 2009

CAR parking problems are not deterring shoppers coming to Hexham, according to the findings of a major traffic study published this week.

Instead the report pointed to feedback from visitors who said the town did not have the same shopping attractions as other major centres in the region.

However, Edinburgh-based transport consultants Colin Buchanan and Partners, recommended signage needed to be improved, as did the pedestrian routes from the Wentworth and M&S car parks to the town centre.

The latest survey was commissioned by Northumberland County Council after town centre traders fiercely objected to the findings of the previous one carried out in December 2007.

That recommended pedestrianising the Market Place – at a loss of 15 town centre parking bays.

During a Tynedale Community Forum meeting held in Prospect House on Tuesday, Buchanans revealed its findings.

First off, contrary to a commonly held perception among traders, shoppers were not highly dissatisfied with the quality of parking in the town centre.

Spokesman David McGuigan said: “In fact, the single most influential reason for not visiting Hexham was seen to lie in its poorer shopping offer than elsewhere.”

Parking issues did not put visitors off, he added, and the town certainly had enough parking spaces to meet demand – there were 117 on-street and 1,374 off-street.

However, they weren’t always in the right places.

Converting the long-stay parking bays in the Loosing Hill and Gilesgate car parks into short-stay bays would help improve turnover in the town centre.

Drivers looking for all-day parking could be directed to the Wentworth car park instead.

Reducing the maximum parking time on Beaumont Street from two hours to one hour would also increase turnover and, hence, availability, said Mr McGuigan.

Strategically, Beaumont Street was an important area of on-street parking that could be better used to boost the number of potential customers in the town centre.

“Consumer spending is vital if Hexham is to flourish and have a vibrant, healthy economy,” he said.

Something that was not helping was the number of drivers failing to comply with parking restrictions.

Overstaying time limits, failing to pay for tickets and parking on yellow lines reduced revenue and stifled turnover.

During the day in October Buchanan’s carried out its survey, over half of the 2,313 cars parked had failed to comply with regulations.

While a third of the drivers parked in Beaumont Street and Gilesgate were transgressors, the figure rose to 72 per cent and 98 per cent in Priestpopple and Battle Hill respectively.

Those present at the meeting were divided into three groups to discuss the report.

Debate raged in one group, with residents firmly in favour of pedestrianising the Market Place versus town centre traders convinced the resultant loss of parking bays would “kill trade”.

Published by http://www.hexhamcourant.co.uk